Chocolate & Bubblegum: A Mello Love Story
by snooze2010
Summary: Ever since the death of L, Jewel has done everything in her power to escape the twisted web of Kira. But what will happen when four years later, an old friend from Wammy's drags her back into the game and requests her help to bring down Kira? Mello x OC. Canon.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This story closely follows the anime, not the manga. I'm sorry for those of you who may be outraged at this. Also, I'm not going to lie, I've read A LOT of FanFics over the years, and I've picked up quite a few cool idea's from a bunch of them. Now, I TOTALLY don't mean to plagiarize, so if you happen to notice that an idea in my story is one that you've had or something to that effect, please tell me and I can either give you credit for it, or edit it from my story if you wish :) I hope you enjoy...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything whatsoever connected to it.

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><p><strong>April 13 2012<strong>

The footsteps behind me had been following me for quite a while now. It was time to see what was going on, and in a deserted part of town like this I wouldn't have to worry about making a scene. I turned a corner around an old, decrepit building, and waited. The footsteps were getting closer, and closer. 3... 2... 1... Now!

My right hook made solid contact with my would-be-attacker's jaw, and I felt bone crunch under my fist.

A tall, dirty, large muscled guy stumbled back and grabbed his jaw, moaning in agony. A long braided rope fell from his shoulder onto the sidewalk.

"Who are you, and what the hell do you want!" It was at that moment that I happened to look past him, further down the side walk. "Crap." Another two beefy men in greasy wife beaters were headed down my way, and fast. I knew I couldn't take them, not that many, not even with my years of training, and I wasn't exactly up for a fight just now.

I turned to make a run for it but another two scary looking guys were coming down the street from the opposite direction, cutting off any means of escape. Five. Five guys, all of them huge, all of them dirty and scarred; some with bald heads and some with grimy hair. A few of them had random tattoos showing on their arms and skulls. Nice bunch; the kind you'd expect to run into at a Klan meeting, or maybe just a deserted part of town.

Now running wasn't an option, they didn't look like they were all that fast, but they already had me more than surrounded. Now the question became whether or not to fight, or to go quietly.

"Listen girly," one of the ones from down the street said, "you come along nicely and we won't have to rough you up." He pulled a switch blade from his back pocket.

None of them seemed to have guns; that was a good sign. I calculated the odds in my head, and decided I could make a more informed decision if only I knew what they wanted me for; though it wouldn't be too hard to guess.

"That bitch!" The one I'd already hit hollered, as he spat blood onto the sidewalk. "Forget what that kid wants, I say we kill 'er here!" Wait, what?

"Shut up Lee, you walked right into that one anyway. Mel told you not to follow her so close." The guy with the switch blade seemed to be in charge of this little operation.

"What do you behemoths want with me?" I demand of the leader. If I did decide to fight, I'd have to take him down first. That was the rule, leader always goes down first.

"Heh, not us that wants you, the kid said to bring you in. We do what Mel tells us." 'The kid'? What were these guys doing listening to some kid? And to top it off a kid named 'Mel'? Sounded like a chic.

"Can't think for yourselves? Actually, with your poor grasp of English grammar, I don't expect you to be able to do much thinking at all, so it's okay."

"Why you!" the one the leader had called Lee charged at me.

"What? You haven't had enough?" Looks like it was going to be a fight.

I ducked down to avoid his flailing fists, and threw an uppercut right into his gut, he doubled over in an instant, and then the others started coming after me.

Dodging one or two people using basic street fighting techniques was one thing; trying to dodge five, with knives, well that was different. I turned to the wall, ran up it and pushed off, using my force and momentum to carry myself over the attackers who were behind me. It was one thing to fight a group of five men; it was another entirely to have them all coming at you from different directions.

I took an offensive stance and motioned to them with the finger taunt. Thankfully they didn't all come at once, and Lee was still laying on the concrete, so I wouldn't have to worry about him.

Their leader stood back and watched as the two smallest guys (they were still pretty huge) started towards me. The one on the left made his move first, a left hook which I easily blocked and countered with a flat palm to his nose, jamming it up into his face, he stumbled back and the guy on the right came at me next. A round house kick to his gut had him stumbling backwards, but he came after me again. After dodging and blocking a number of their quick attacks, I decided it was time to end this fast. I had way more endurance than any one of these guys, but all of them put together would be hard to beat if it went on for too long. I cupped my hand and swung it at my closest opponent, aiming for his ear. A direct hit had him crying out in pain, but then a ruptured eardrum would have anyone crying out like he was. The other one grabbed my wrist. It wouldn't take them much longer to figure out that they really should attack me all at once. I made a quick two elbow jabs to the face of the one that was holding me, and at the same time, lunged my foot out for a groin kick to the other one.

The guy on my wrist was still holding on though, and that was bad, if I couldn't get him off, I'd have one less hand to fight with. Not good odds. The guy I kicked in the groin fell to his knees, but the one that had come up with him grabbed the ankle of my right foot.

I froze. My Achilles heel, my right ankle; no! I couldn't let them know they'd found my weak spot. I used the guy holding onto my wrist to hold myself up while I landed a kick with my left foot to the guy who was holding onto my right. The weight of my body was too much for the guy on my wrist to support, and he dropped me to the sidewalk.

I landed on my side and was a bit winded, and my glasses came flying off. Crap.

"She's down! Get her now!" Oh no, I may have been down, but I certainly wasnt't out. I reached my left hand into my coat pocket and slipped my fingers into my brass knuckles. Then waited for them to get close. The first guy to reach me didn't even see it coming when I jammed my brass knuckles into his knee cap.

"Ahh, filthy bitch!" he cried.

With my right hand I pulled out my own switch blade and dug it into the shoe of the guy who had been holding onto me; far enough up his foot, so that if he had been wearing steel toed boots, they wouldn't have helped. It would've been a lot easier to fight them however if I'd had my glasses. I could barely make out their shapes without them.

I braced my back against the sidewalk and kicked up at the one in front of me, but he caught my feet and lifted them into the air, flipping me around and knocking me off balance. The other two moved in at once, each grabbing a hand and disarming me of my knife and brass knuckles.

"Lee! Lee, get your ass up and bring the hand cuffs and rope over here!" their boss ordered.

Lee had slowly but surely been working his way to his feet while the fight was going on. What a pansy that one was.

"Let me go!" I hollered, and attempted to wiggle free, thrashing around and throwing my weight from side to side. I attempted to kick out, but had nothing to brace myself against to get enough force behind the kick. "Hey, you West Side Story rejects! Let me go!"

Lee I assumed, came up to my side and, without warning, kicked me hard in the ribs. So he was the one wearing steel toed boots.

"Shut up bitch!" He ordered as I gasped in agony, completely winded. The two men holding on to my arms brought them around my back, and I felt handcuffs being clasped on them. Then Lee used the rope he'd been carrying to tie my feet together.

"Hey Eddy," the leader said as he lowered my legs to the ground, "I don't want to let her go just yet; the blind fold is in my back pocket, get it will you."

"Idiots. I already can't see. I need my glasses." I felt another sharp jab in my ribs, harder than the last time. My eyes started to sting as I fought back tears, and a dark cloth was tied over my eyes.

I could no longer move, I could no longer see. The leader finally let me down, and I could hear him step over to my head on the concrete.

"That the chloroform boss?"

"Yeah."

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><p>I started to come around, and heard a bunch of men around me talking.<p>

"...I still don't know boss; she put two of my guys in the hospital. And look at Eddy's face man, he probably shoulda gone too, he's gonna be black and blue for weeks."

"How many did you send?" What? I knew that voice. I was still wearing the blind fold, but somehow, I knew that voice. It was a voice that I knew a long time ago, a voice that had changed with age, but still had an undertone of familiarity.

"There were five of us all together."

"Only five!" Why? Why was that voice so familiar! "I told you to take at least eight other guys with you."

"Boss, it was just some chic, I thought five was excessive as it was."

"Well obviously you see now that she's not just, 'some chic,'"

OF COURSE!

"M-Mello?" All the talking stopped, and I felt countless eyes all turn to me. "Mello, is that you?" I felt a rush of emotions flooding back with all the memories that came at the mention of his name.

"Should've known she'd be coming around by now. Might as well take her blind fold off then."

"Boss, how'd..."

"None of your business, just take it off. Now Jack!"

I heard somebody step around me and I felt the blindfold being lifted off. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust, my glasses were still gone but I could make out enough to get by... barely. When they took off my blindfold I found myself sitting on a large corner couch in the middle of a large room.

"Was anybody smart enough to bring my glasses back?" I asked rudely. It probably wasn't such a good idea to start talking disrespectfully to them, considering I was still tied up and I wasn't exactly looking forward to another kick to my side, but seriously. I could make out the shape of a blonde head giving a nod on the far end of the couch and then someone put my glasses back on for me; they weren't going to take any chances by untying me so that I could put them on myself.

The world became instantly clearer... and instantly more complicated as I took in my surroundings.

I took in the room. It was pretty run-down, it felt old and musty. There were some computers set up in the corner, and a make-shift bar to my right. Cigarettes and ash trays were lying all over the place, and empty beer bottles were scattered all over the floor and tabletops.

I took in the people next. There were a bunch of goons with an IQ equivalent to that of the highest roll of two dice. Some of them I recognised from the street, some of them were new, but all had the same 'I could eat you alive' look in their eyes. Nice.

I was avoiding what was coming next, but it was inevitable. I turned my gaze to Mello. My heart started beating faster and faster in my chest and my lungs strained to keep up. A cascade of emotions flowed through me.

First elation: I was beyond euphoric to see Mello again, to see Mello after all these years.

Second sadness: Why did he leave? No 'good-byes,' no 'I'm sorry's.'

Third anger: How could he do this? After all these years he drags me back like this? He had some nerve.

I decided to stick with anger for what I was about to do next. I needed every advantage I could take, I needed the upper hand in this screwed up situation; and an emotion like sadness was only going to weigh me down.

"What's this all about Mello! You've got some nerve dragging me here like this!"

"Actually, I require your assistance in something," the way he spoke, his tone of voice... we hadn't seen each other in over four years, and it was like he could care less. But I wasn't about to let him know how much that stung.

"YOU, the great Mello, require MY assistance for something?" He'd always looked down on me at Wammy's, he'd always hated me and I didn't understand why. I knew why he hated Near; he hated Near because Near was better than him. But me, why did he hate me? I was barely fifth, and in no way any competition for him. Maybe he just hated me because Near...

"Actually, this is the one area where you are more experienced than I am," Mello said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Heh, the 'ONE'? Wow, I feel special. I finally know more than Mello," I sneered, my voice dripping with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I was still moderately freaked out at this whole situation. Where was I? What was going on?

"It has to do with the Kira investigation." That did it. My heart stopped cold, and I almost had a heart attack right then and there. I couldn't find my voice, I couldn't even find my breath.

BREATHE! I ordered myself, and slowly I started to come down from my shock. "Forget it Mello," I all but hollered, "I was done with Kira years ago, I am NOT going to mess around with this case anymore!" I asserted, biting my lip.

Lip... mouth... my mouth was dry. I needed some bubblegum. I pulled my knees up to my chest so that my feet were on the couch, arched my back, and slid my handcuffed hands under my butt, and under my feet so that they were resting in my lap. I lowered my feet back to the floor and twisted my shoulders so that I could fish in my right hand pocket for my bubblegum. I placed a huge stick of bubblegum as the motley crew in front of my watched with bemusement.

"Now..." I started again, but Mello once again felt the need to interrupt.

"Just listen, all I need is some background information on the case. Give me that and you can go."

"So that's it!" What a jerk! "You're just going to use me for some information and then forget I exist again?" All these years and he just wants me for information? He just wants to use me? And of all the things to use me for; I knew what this was about. This wasn't about catching Kira for him; this was about beating Near to catching Kira. He was going to use me to surpass my own...

"Jewel, are you going to help me or not!" he demanded, and I sensed that all the other guys in the room were growing uncomfortable. They must have figured we had some unresolved, rocky history together. They wouldn't be altogether wrong.

"Give me one good reason why I should!"

"I'll give you two. One: this is to help catch Kira, and Two: I'm not letting you leave until you do." He smirked at me like he had the upper hand, and I couldn't stop myself from realising just how attractive he was with that sardonic grin on his face.

"You're going to keep me hold up in this rat trap until I tell you what you want to know."

"Yeah, that's about it."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well there you have it, the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I should have the next chapter up soon :) Review :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Well here's chapter 2 :) I hope you like it. Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/subscribed to an alert. Made my day ;D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

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><p>Mello and I starred coldly at each other, and the tension in the room was all but palpable. A few of the guys around us were shifting uncomfortably, awkwardly coughing and probably wondering how on Earth they could make their way out of the room unnoticed.<p>

"Jeeze Mello, where did you dig this one up?" a guy with a southern drawl finally broke the silence. "Who is she? Why do you need HER help? She seems pretty useless to me," the guy snickered, but Mello and I still didn't break eye contact. That jerk, wouldn't he even stand up for me. Well then, if Mello wouldn't contradict that asshole he must agree with him, he must agree that I AM useless. Well fine then.

"Yes Mello, why do you need my help? You certainly didn't need my help when you left the institution. You seem to have done well for yourself these past years. Why seek me out now? Hit a dead end?" I teased, and curled my lip back over my teeth. Mello didn't take the bait. "I told you, I'm not getting involved in this. It's in Near's hands now." Mello's reaction was almost imperceptible, but it was there this time. The corners of his lips turned down ever so slightly, and a darker aura seemed to cloud his eyes.

Mello's sore spot: Near.

"Uh, yeah..." one of the guys broke in, "if you can handle this Mello, I think the rest of us are going to take a break. Just holler if you need us." A bald headed guy with a red beard and white sports coat stood up and motioned to the rest of the goon squad to follow him. They all shuffled out of the room.

Once I heard the door close behind them I said, "I'm not telling you anything Mello. You and you cohorts..." I tried to point after them, but then remembered my hands were cuffed together. I looked down at them and realised that the metal was chaffing my wrists. A low growl escaped my throat.

"Hey," I looked up and saw Mello toss something silver and jingly at me. I caught it easily, albeit painfully and starred at it a moment before I looked up to Mello questioningly.

"The key? I thought you just said you were going to keep me here until I told you what you wanted to know."

"I don't need the handcuffs to keep you here. Hell, I don't care what kind of a front you're putting on right now. You'll help me with this. You're already too involved to not."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "So you think I'm kidding? You think I won't walk out of here the second I get these off?"

"You won't walk out of here. Walking out of here is like walking out on L, and you won't do that."

"I walked out on the legacy of L four years ago. Why do you think I won't do it again?"

"You walked out then because you couldn't handle it then, you were weak then."

"Is that why YOU walked out then?" His mouth twitched subtly at my not so subtle implication, at my not to subtle insult. "L's dead, or have you forgotten." I said in the best monotone I could fake while talking about that subject. "It's over Mello. L couldn't beat Kira, and neither can you. Neither can Near for all I'm concerned."

"So what? You're just going to bow down to him? You're just going to let him win?"

"He's already won Mello. Kira took the king; it was checkmate the day that L died."

"Checkmate huh?" Mello seemed to turn my words over in his head. "Do you still play Jewel? Are you still any good at chess?"

"Last time I checked I was still good at chess." What was he getting at?

"I'll make you a deal. You have one game with me; one game of chess. If I win you help me with this case. If you win you can walk out that door, and I won't stop you. You can go back to your boring life, free of guilt, free of responsibility. Just free."

"You may've been second at Wammy's Mello, but no one except Near and L ever beat me at chess. You know that as well as I do. How many games have you already lost to me Mello? I've already beaten you at chess."

"Well then, it should be easy to beat me at one more then, shouldn't it?"

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><p>I don't know how on earth I let him talk me into this. Maybe it was my pride, maybe... I don't know, maybe subconsciously I really did want to help. I mean after all, Mello, Near, and Matt wherever he was, they were all I had left in the world of Wammy's now. I missed them all, I hadn't seen Mello in over four years, can you really blame me for wanting to get as much out of this encounter as I could? Who knew when I would see him next. And besides, I've always loved a good game of chess.<p>

While Mello set up the board I took the time to re-familiarize myself with him. He hadn't changed too much over the years. He'd grown taller sure, and his face was less childlike. He had the same piercing blue eyes and an aura that just...

"Hey are you paying attention?" I checked the board, and saw each piece in its proper place.

"You want to make this a little more interesting Mello?"

He arched his eyebrow at me, "What do you mean more interesting?"

"When I take a piece, you answer a question," I said seriously. I was going to get to the bottom of this, and everything else if it killed me. When I win the game I'm free to go, and if I'm free to go I'm not going to be getting any of the answers I might've gotten if I stayed. There were so many unanswered questions I had, so many answers I still needed.

He starred coolly at me, betraying no emotion, "Sure, why not. But the same goes for me. When I take YOUR piece, YOU answer a question."

"Deal."

I glanced down at the board again as Mello made his first move. Queen's pawn to queen four. I was always black when I played, I never moved first. Sure having the first move would be an advantage for most, but not for me. I was never an offensive player; I liked to hang back, gauge my options and only if the situation called for it, would I make a bold move. I hated the Queen's pawn to queen four move.

Mello and I couldn't use traditional or generic strategies when we played. They were too easily outthought by the other. That was the problem when you played against a genius. When you played a rookie their moves were so transparent, so easily countered. When you played a genius the simplest move could have a hundred meanings, a hundred reasons behind it; your opponent having already thought through the entirety of the game at hand.

Good grief I needed to calm down. This was Mello; not Near or L. Yes he was an amazing player, but he had never once beaten me. I could handle this; it was just like the old days. I made my move. Bishop's pawn to bishop four.

We played back and forth like this for a while. Each move taking longer than the one before it, and each player taking suspicious care to not lose a piece. Finally the inevitable, I took my first pawn, and asked my first question. I had so many to choose from, I had so many I wanted answers for. "What is all this?" I started, "Who are these people, and what are you doing here?"

"Hey, that's like, three questions."

"Pfft, they're all basically the same question idiot.

"Fine. This is a mafia base," he started matter-of-factly. The mafia! What was he doing with the mafia! "I joined up with them just over a year ago to have some support in my goal to catch Kira and surpass, Near." I heard the bitterness roll off his tongue when he said Near's name, when he said my brother's name, when he said my twin brother's name. And it made me wonder, if he hated Near so much, did he hate me too? "Are you going to play or what?" Mello cut into my self-pity. I looked down and he'd already made his next move. I quickly overcame my shock at the information he'd given me, countered his move and took his queen's knight.

"Alright, next question, why'd you send those mafia behemoths after me?" I jabbed my finger out the door that I'd seen the Neanderthals leave through. I was so glad they hadn't returned yet. I was also quite pleased to have had the handcuffs removed as I noted the red rings that still circled my wrists.

"Heh, if five mafia members came up to you, and asked you nicely to please join them, would you have?"

I chuckled lightly, "No, I guess not," and a light smile graced my lips. "I might've though," I asserted, "had they told me what they wanted me for."

"No you wouldn't have." I didn't bother to hide the insulted look that spread on my face. I was about to contradict him, but he continued, "I could barely get you to stay here when you did know what it was all about, and you were already here! Given the choice you would've left the moment we took the blindfold off."

"...I wouldn't have left without my glasses," I said wryly. Mello smirked at me and I couldn't help but smile back. He'd always had that affect on me, even back at Wammy's; when Mello smiled, I smiled. "But that's not what I meant in any case," Mello looked at me curiously. "Why didn't you come get me yourself," I looked down. Did I really want to know the answer to this one?

I glanced back up and saw that he was staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face, like he hadn't understood the question. "It... never... occurred to me," and he shrugged. Gee, thanks. No, it's okay, I'm not insulted. You haven't seen me in over four years and you send your goons to come after me instead of yourself. Sounds like you really wanted to catch up, sounds like you really wanted to see me.

"Whatever, it's your move," I said with just a hint of bitterness.

His next move had him confiscating my rook. Darn it.

"So what've you been up to all these years?" So... did that mean he DID care? That he WAS curious? Heh, this was Mello we were talking about, it wasn't likely.

I looked down sheepishly, "I don't know," I brought my left thumb up to my lower lip and let it rest there. "I stayed at Wammy's until I was fifteen," I tried to think back, it was a painful time for me. I'd just lost everything. L had died, I'd watched him die. Mello left, Near left. Matt had stayed behind and tried to help me through, but it wasn't long before he'd had enough himself. "I'd had enough and came out to California, lived off of my inheritance for a while," there wasn't much that a well invested inheritance couldn't do for a person. "Got a job, educated myself. They don't let many fifteen year olds apply to university, especially without the proper paperwork. And so I don't know, it's been like that for a while now," Mello nodded silently. I removed my thumb from my lip and I made my next move.

By the time we had cleared half the board it was an hour later and Mello's mafia associates had come back. They'd decided to watch us play and I think we had both silently agreed to stop asking questions after that. Letting these strangers have a free glimpse into our lives like that was just, too weird. And I was getting too nervous to ask my more pressing questions anyway. Maybe I just didn't want to know; maybe I was too afraid to be hurt again. Mello was right, I was still weak.

"Hello, earth to Jewel," I blinked a couple times as I zoned back into the world. "You're going to lose if you can't keep your focus," one of the larger guys watching over my right shoulder said to me. I looked down at the board and noticed it was the majority of MY pieces that were missing. I still had more than enough to win the game though; and more than enough of a plan to make it happen. All I really needed to win were two rooks. I'd beaten my computer on the maximum difficulty with only those pieces left. It was Mello that needed to be careful, he may've had more pieces, but I had more practical pieces. While Mello was left with a pair of bishops, a rook, a knight and a handful of pawns, I had my queen, a knight, both rooks and a pair of pawns. More than enough.

"Have you got anything to eat in this joint?" I asked to no one in particular. I'd noticed Mello had helping himself to chocolate bars throughout the night, and guessed the guys had eaten when they'd left. "Wholly!" I checked my watch and noticed it was just about ten. Where had the time gone! It had only been six o'clock when I was walking home, and now it was suddenly ten? Mello and I had been playing for roughly two hours, each making careful, calculated moves, which means it took approximately two hours to get from my place to here. Where exactly was 'here'?

Mello narrowed his eyes at me, ignoring my inner monologue. I had the feeling the only thing to 'eat' around here were his chocolate bars, and I also had the feeling that he was really possessive of them.

I narrowed my eyes back at him and popped a fresh piece of bubblegum into my mouth; fine, he wanted to play that way? I checked the board, it was time for a bold move, it was time to finish this. I ran through all the possible combinations in my head, I took what I knew about Mello, what he knew about me, and I made my move. The best move, the only move; I sacrificed my queen. The board was set up perfectly after that. In our next five moves I'd taken both his bishops, his rook and two pawns; losing only my last bishop in the process. I was going to win, it was inevitable. We'd given up in the questions, I didn't want to ask the rest of mine, and it seemed as though Mello didn't have any pressing questions of his own.

It was time to move in for the kill. Mello's pawns were trapped in front of my pieces, and so long as I kept his king in check his knight was too far away to be useful. I used my rooks to slowly but surely force Mello's king onto his side of the board; one move at a time I was backing him into a corner. He knew he was beat, he knew it was over.

Mello's king ended up right where it had started, and while one rook kept him moving along the first row, I moved my other rook to queen's knight one.

"Checkmate."

Mello stared at the board for a moment and then flicked over his king. Defeat. I almost wish I hadn't had to do that. Mello's whole life was him coming in second. Coming in second to Near, and now coming in second to me. I felt guilty; but why? Was it because Mello had lost? Or was it because I was once again ready to put Kira behind me, once again ready to let L down?

I pushed my glasses further up my nose and then rested my thumb under my lip; both of us just continued to stare at the board as murmurs worked their way through the crowd of men. If they'd been with Mello for as long as he'd said he'd been with them, there was no doubt in my mind that they more than expected him to win. And in all logic, he should have, he was better than me at everything else; hell, he was better than 97% of most people at everything else.

"Well, a deal's a deal. You're more than welcome to leave," he hadn't looked up.

Was this it then? Was he just going to let me go? Was I ever going to see him again? Could we at least keep in contact now that we knew where each other was?

He wasn't saying anything. Fine then.

"Alright, is someone going to drive me home?" I asked expectantly. A possible two hour drive and I didn't have a car.

Mello snapped his gloved fingers. Leather gloves, leather... pants, a leather vest? What was his fetish with leather? I mean, not that I was complaining, it took everything I had not to blush when I looked at him. Yes I was still furious at him for disappearing four years ago, but that doesn't mean I couldn't find him exceptionally attractive. Heh, that was another thing that hadn't changed in all these years. "Rod, will you drive her back?"

"C'mon Mello, can't you pick someone else? I'm having 'company' over in a little bit." I did NOT want to be around for that.

"Why can't YOU take me Mello? Can't you stand to be around me?"

"I never could." I kept my mouth shut as a dull, rusty knife blade jammed its way into my heart. He wasn't teasing me like I'd been teasing him; he was serious, and it hurt. I willed my eyes not to water as Mello continued, "But I suppose if no one else is going to do it." he got up and headed for the door, I waited a moment and then followed him out.

We got outside and I could finally take in the building... if you could call it that; what a mess. It looked like a massive, gray box that'd fallen in and crumbled years ago. What a mess.

Hidden behind a pile of debris was a shiny black motorcycle. Great. I stood by and watched as Mello slid on and grabbed his helmet. "Well, let's go," he said almost angrily and he reached out for my arm.

"Aiiie!" A started yelp escaped my mouth before I could even consciously register the pain. Mello's hand had accidentally brushed up against my side, my right side, the side that had been mercilessly kicked.

"What!" Mello asked, startled. I hadn't had a chance to see what'd happened yet, so I took this opportunity to check out the damage myself. I lifted the side of my shirt to reveal a growing blue and purple bruise the size of a basketball. "Damn Jewel, what happened?"

"What happened? Your goons happened," I spat angrily.

Mello actually seemed to be taken aback by this, and as I examined the discolouration more closely. "I'm sorry for that," he started, but wouldn't face me, "I told them not to hurt you."

"Whatever Mello, just take me home." I'd so had enough of this for the night.

I got on the back of Mello's bike and got as close to him as I dared. Close enough so that I couldn't fall off and yet far enough away so things didn't get personal. There was a very fine line between the dangers of falling off, and the dangers of making things too personal; and I didn't exactly know which would be worse at this point. Mello handed me an extra helmet he'd left lying beside his bike.

Mello and I rode the two hours from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara in silence, and the silence persisted as he dropped me off outside of my apartment a little after midnight.

"Bye," I whispered into the darkness, as his motorcycle disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Make sure and let me know if you think the chapters are too long, or if you think it's taking too long to get interesting. I promise some really awesome stuff is coming up soon :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Hey guys, thanks for reading my story. I hope you're liking it so far, let me know if you have any suggestions for me. I'm sorry if Mello's not IC enough for you. I've been trying to keep him from going OOC, but as one story writer once told me, if he was IC all the time, it'd be almost pointless to try and write a FanFic about him haha ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it... I wonder if I need to do this for every chapter.

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><p>"Damn him!" I hissed as I entered my apartment. I threw my jean jacket on the recliner and flopped onto my love seat. Good grief what a day, he had me so wired. The day had started out so simply and ended with such a... such a... in all of my extensive vocabulary I couldn't even come up with a single word to describe the craziness of the day; that's how riled I was.<p>

I sat seething for a moment before I realised I still hadn't had anything to eat. I stormed to my fridge in a fury and after finding nothing that looked even remotely appetising, I took to pacing stubbornly.

The nerve of Mello! I had a system, I had a routine, I had a life and now he just shows up out of nowhere and demands that I help him! What, does he think I owe that to him? He left me completely alone when I needed someone the most, and now that I'd picked myself up off the ground, and made a life for myself he was going to screw it all up again? I couldn't deal with the Kira case anymore; not after working with L, not after watching L die. My nerves couldn't take it; I couldn't go up against Light Yagami again! I growled in frustration and balled my hands into fists.

*Flashback*

_The rain was pouring and my eyes were burning trying to hold back my tears, and it wouldn't work for much longer. I hadn't cried since before I could remember. I'd never needed to; there had been nothing in my life worth crying over. Not even pain, I'd always had a high tolerance for pain. But this wasn't like physical pain, this was emotional pain, and it cut much more deeply than any physical pain I'd ever known. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and looked out at the street from my window._

_L wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was much smarter than Kira, he wouldn't have been beaten by him. At any moment now, any moment I'd see L walking down the street, through the rain, and turn to come into Wammy's House._

*End Flashback*

I was frozen in place. L wasn't coming back, L was never coming back. I'd watched him die and I'd done nothing to stop it. I sulked to my room and slid under the covers, ordering myself to not cry.

I laid there for who knows how long. I had no desire to turn over and check the LED read out on my clock, but before long there was no need to, my room was brightening. It was morning and I hadn't slept at all.

"Well," I asked myself aloud, "what are you going to do about this now."

I dragged myself out of the bed and back into the kitchen. The timer on the stove told me it was just after six-thirty; good grief, I'd never in my life woken up so early in my life, but then I hadn't exactly gone to sleep, it was more just that I'd stayed up until six-thirty, which I had in fact done before. I dug again in the fridge and to my dismay nothing had changed in the six hours since I'd last checked it.

I closed the fridge and wandered aimlessly around my apartment, and somehow I managed to end up right outside my closet. My closet that housed my safe, my safe that housed all the documents I'd managed to save from the 'All Data Deletion' when Watari and L had died. I let out a great sigh and got to my knees. Mello was right, no matter what kind of a front I was putting on, there was no way I was going to let Mello go it alone; I couldn't.

I rotated the combination of the safe sitting on the floor and opened the door. Inside sat a huge accordion file, stuffed full with information pertaining to the Kira case, everything I'd had the sense to make copies of while I still had the chance. I pulled it out and rested in my lap for a couple minutes. I was so indecisive, I always had been. I wondered if there was ever going to be a point in my life where I could make a decision with a hundred percent certainty.

I picked up the file, pulled myself off the floor, went to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth, changed my clothes, grabbed my car keys, my jacket, a pack of gum and was out the door.

* * *

><p>With morning rush hour and stopping for breakfast, it took me just over two and a half hours to get to Los Angeles, but I managed to find the mafia base that Mello's crew had brought me the other night. I waited in my 2010 Challenger, parked outside the mafia base for a good ten minutes before I called my boss on my cell phone and told her I wouldn't be in for a couple days, and then I grabbed the box on the seat beside me and walked right up to the front door.<p>

I was pleased to notice Mello's bike was parked outside where it'd been last night, at least he was here. it was going to be bad enough going back into this glorified garbage dump, but it'd be worse if the only people inside were the ones that'd beaten me up last night.

I wasn't sure if I should knock, or just go right in, or if going right in would lead to a shootout and my death, but I didn't have to debate with myself for long because in moments a large black guy with dreads opened the door.

"Can I help you missy?"

"I'm here to see Mello," I stated and narrowed my eyes. Take no prisoners Jewel, don't let him intimidate you.

We faced off for a moment before a stern voice came in over a walkie-talkie the guy was holding. "Well don't just stand there, let her in," Mello ordered. I took a second to glance around, and sure enough spotted a surveillance camera tucked into a crevice in the wall. Nice.

I strode right past the guy who had yet to move; it was a bit of a tight squeeze to get past him, so maybe that gym membership had been a good idea after all.

I strolled into the main room like I owned the place and gave Mello an, I'm-in-charge look. It was required if I was going to hold onto any of my dignity.

"What are you doing here?" he asked innocently with a snap of his chocolate bar.

I placed the folder on the table and popped a stick of bubblegum in my mouth before I answered. "You knew I'd be back."

"I knew you'd be back," and with that he got the most mischievous grin on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him and bit my lip, finally acknowledging the others in the room who were spaced more or less evenly around the gigantic purple couch. Somebody had shot and skinned Barney for that one.

"Well, do you want the information or not?" I asked, gesturing to the overfilled file on the table.

Mello motioned for the others to leave the room; I picked up the box and placed it between us as I took a seat on the couch. "'Kay, everything's in here, the basics anyway, right from day one."

For the next couple hours we worked our way through the hundreds of papers and folders in the file. We went through everything; from the moment L was called in, the information leaks from the police headquarters, the investigations of the families of the NPA. We concentrated a little more on Raye Penber, and L's suspicion of Light. We went through the files on the second Kira, and the connection to Misa Amane; the confinement of Light and Misa and the Yotsuba Corporation.

Mello's associates interrupted us a little while later with take out from the nearest fast food place. Burgers and fries... I took the fries and kindly informed them that I was a vegetarian. I'd never seen a group of men so freaked out in their lives; from the looks I'd gotten I might as well have told them I was a little green alien from Mars.

For the next little while Mello and I discussed the Death Note, the Shinigami, and L and Light being handcuffed together, and the constant surveillance of Misa. "Bottom line," I told Mello, "L was over 99% sure that Light was Kira. End of story, I don't think he was wrong. Everything was too much of a coincidence to not be the truth. The way that, as soon as L would one step ahead, something would come up and... and I don't know. Like I said, I don't think he was wrong."

"So, what happened then? You had the Death Note, was it real? Was it Light's?"

*Flashback*

_Preparations were going to be made by Watari to transport the Notebook. A criminal was going to write in the Notebook and if he was still alive thirteen days later he would be pardoned and the entire case would be solved._

_Suddenly there was a flash of lightning and all the monitors in front of us started beeping and blinking red; there was a terrifying, ominous aura in the room. Something bad was going to happen._

"_What is this? A black out?" Matsuda asked in the midst of the chaos._

"_Watari? Watari!" L called out and I felt my skin grow cold and my blood start to boil._

'_ALL DATA DELETION' flashed on the screens, and my mind began to swim with panic as a high pitched tone rung from the computers._

"'_All Data Deletion'?" I heard one of the members of the NPA ask beside me, "What the hell's going on?"_

"_I told Watrai, to make sure that he should erase all information, in the event that something were to happen to him." Watari? What was happening to Watari?_

"_If 'something' were to happen?"_

"_Could it be...?"_

"_Where is the Shinigami!" L demanded._

"_Good question, I don't see it," Mr. Yagami answered._

_My mind was reeling and I couldn't think; like a deer caught in the headlight's I completely froze up._

"_It disappeared."_

"_What's going on?" I heard through the madness._

"_Everyone, the Shiniga..."_

*End Flashback*

I swear to this day I felt it, I swear I felt the life slip out of him in that moment. I cast my eyes downward, "The only hang-up in L's case was the 13 Day Rule in the Death Note. That was just about the only thing that said that Light Yagami couldn't be Kira. But L didn't believe that rule. He was going to havea criminal test it. He was going to have a criminal write a name and if he was still alive 13 days later than it would be proven conclusively that Light was Kira... and that's when L was killed.

It wasn't a coincidence Mello; why would Kira kill L when L was so sure Kira was Light. If Kira WASN'T Light, then Kira would have had no reason to kill him. In fact Kira should have wanted L to stick around because L was so focused on Light that the real Kira would have gotten away. But no, Light was... IS Kira, and that's why L was killed."

Mello waited a moment and then responded with, "I see."

But did he see? Did he understand the severity of the whole situation? Light wasn't playing fair; he didn't need to play fair. "You can't win against someone who's cheating Mello. no matter how good you are, if they're not playing by the rules you won't beat them, they'll have the upper hand because there's no constraints on them, there's nothing stopping them from crossing boundaries that people like L won't cross. Do you know how easy it would've been to just kill Light? To say it was in the name of justice, to say that ends justified the means? But L wouldn't do that, L played fair and it would've been an insult to him to do otherwise. That's why L didn't win, that's why YOU won't win, and that's why Near won't win. You can't win against a cheater."

"Don't you know Jewel, cheater's never win and winner's never cheat. We WILL stop Kira and I WILL beat Near." Well, if Mello was anything he was determined, always was.

I sighed and let myself fall back onto the cough, this was all just too much. Yesterday I'd not a care on the world, and now? Now I was dealing with the Kira case again.

"So what now then?" I asked, pulling myself back up, "We know Kira is Light Yagami, what do we do about it?"

Mello stood up and turned his back towards me, he was thinking... and he sure was looking good doing it.

NO! I scolded myself. Did I really want to go down this path again? It'd been the same four years ago. Four years ago when I realised I really and truly liked Mello, four years ago when he'd left without a word.

It was one thing when we were little and my love for him was little more than a crush, when he was cute instead of... instead of mind numbingly h-hott. But we were older now, and I more than had a crush on him, I dare say I more than loved him. And he was way more than just cute, there was no doubt. Having being dragged back into this by him had brought back so many memories, so many feelings that I thought I'd locked away along with all the files that now lay scattered around the sofa and table.

I had missed him more than I realised. But then what had I expected, he never left my thoughts for long. As hard as I tried, no one from Wammy's did. All I wanted to do was forget my past; forget that I'd known L and worked on the Kira case, forget that years ago I'd fallen in love with Mello before he'd left, forget how Matt had been there for me after Mello left and I totally left him in the cold, forget that it was my brother who was now working on the Kira case and risking his life.

"Okay," Mello started, interrupting my blast to the past, "for starters, here..." Mello turned and dropped a laptop on my lap. "See if you can't find out what the NPA is up to right now. Where did they go with this investigation after L, died." He seemed to have as much trouble saying that word as I did.

I blew a bubble with my gum and Mello cracked another piece of chocolate, he was serious. I shifted the computer slightly on my lap and started thrumming on the keys, pulling up files and hacking into data bases. It was harder than it had been when I was working with L; L'd had almost limitless resources and the best equipment, I was now trying to work off a second hand computer on dial up. NOT fun.

There was no doubt in my mind that this computer and the wall of monitors on the far wall had been stolen. While I waited for my browser to load I took the time to check whether this computer had LoJack, not that I figured anybody would bother to follow it in here if it did.

* * *

><p>"Why did L take YOU on the Kira case with him?" Mello asked out of nowhere.<p>

"There were a couple reasons," I started, pushing the overheating laptop off of my knees. "He couldn't take you or Near, suppose something had happened and the three of you were killed, who would follow up the investigation then? He couldn't take Matt, that lazy bum would've just sat around playing games all day."

"What about Linda?"

"I don't think she was interested. It always seemed like she didn't really want to be a detective, like it wasn't her thing you know? So then there was me, I suppose I was the obvious choice." Yeah, some obvious choice I was. I was useless. "I was in the top five, Near's sister, a was motivated to help L and liked puzzles... Speaking of puzzles," my attention shifted suddenly. I looked around quickly but didn't see what I was looking for; I'd forgotten to bring it, my book bag. I needed my book bag!

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Things are going to heat up pretty soon. If you're wondering whether this is a Canon or not, well I'm trying to make it so. If you noticed the date I placed in Chapter 1 you might've seen that all this is happening before most of the major action in the story. I wanted time to build up my character's relationship with Mello and her back story before thing's got too busy to do so. So yeah, R&R :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Hey everone, next chapter's up, yay. I hope you guys have been enjoying it. Let me know what you think. Don't be afraid to review :P

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated to it.

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><p>"Oh good grief," I can't believe I'd forgotten it; I'd managed to forget it my last day at work too, I hadn't had it when I was attacked.<p>

"What?"

"I forgot my book bag."

"So?"

"So there's something in there that helps me concentrate."

"Like...?"

"Near's got his puzzles and Lego and whatever, I have my Rubik's Cube," I shot him a sheepish smile.

"A Rubik's Cube? Isn't that a little simple for you?" he asked sceptically.

"It's a 27X27," I informed him, teasingly. "It was specially made. And besides, I've got some computer software in my bag for various emergencies."

"What kind of software?"

"I've got software for bugging, debugging, coding, decoding, hacking, viruses, firewalls, just about everything," I smiled and went back to the computer.

I was in a trance-like state for the next couple hours, awakened only when something rectangular and silver landed on the keyboard of the laptop. I blinked a couple times and looked up, "Find anything?" Mello asked, snapping off a bite of his own chocolate bar. I picked up the one he'd tossed at me from the keyboard and unwrapped the foil.

"Uh..." with my chocolate free hand I tried to rub the fuzz from my eyes, "okay, so basically as far as I can tell Soichiro Yagami is in charge of the Kira case right now. They haven't really made any breakthrough's since L died, and the investigation has more or less hit a dead end. Go figure there. Apparently Light Yagami, A.K.A. Kira, joined the task force. Besides the fact that Light's probably leading them around in circles, it seems like they're totally lost without L, like they don't know what to do next. They haven't made any big movements since they moved their base of operations. They're still in Japan, but operating from a smaller headquarters, not the one we worked at when L and I were there. The Japanese police don't seem to know a whole lot about what's going on, or if they do they're not exactly reporting it." I checked the open windows on the computer. For some reason it was all taking a while to register, and it was hard to concentrate. No doubt I'd been staring at the screen for too long.

Mello snapped off another piece of chocolate and continued to stare straight ahead, he was processing the information. As I watched him I felt my body start to slump forward, and my eyes begin to shut.

Before I knew it I was being shaken awake, "Jewel you've been dozing off for the past couple hours."

"Huh?" my brain was so hazy right now.

"I've been watching you, every half hour or so you'll just zone out and fall asleep. You'll wake up a couple minutes later like nothing happened." He was NOT making sense; I felt my eyes start to close again. "Jewel!"

"Whaaat!" I whined. He took the computer off my lap and the chocolate bar from my hand and placed it on the table beside us.

"Time for you to get some sleep kid." I checked my watch, it was three A.M.

"Oh wholly!" I jumped off the couch, albeit a little too fast; I felt myself start to fall back again but Mello caught one of my flailing arms and prevented my inevitable crash back onto the couch. "Man, I'm not going to be home 'til five now," I whined, trying not indulge in the radical feeling that was Mello's hand around my wrist; I pinched my top lip between my teeth.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Excusez-moi?"

"You've been falling asleep Jewel, you can't drive back in your condition. And I sure as hell am not going to drive you."

"Why not?"

"If I take you in your car I'll be stranded at your place, if I take you on my bike you'll be stranded at your place," I have him a sceptical look. "What, it's going to kill you to spend one night her?" he asked defensively.

A yawn was my only response. I felt myself falling forward, but there was no way I was going to be able to stop myself. That's what happens I guess when you try to stay up for 36 hours in a row.

* * *

><p>I woke up with a start, disoriented and confused after a dreamless sleep. The room I was in was pitch black and my glasses were NOT on my face. I tried desperately and more or less, unsuccessfully to not panic.<p>

A flicker of light caught my attention. From the shadows created I could make out a door frame on my left. The light started to increase and I was able to recognise the bouncing beam of a flashlight. Yeah, NOW try not to panic; it was probably some serial killer, or an extraterrestrial... or an extraterrestrial serial killer.

The light stopped outside the doorway and shone in; "What are you still doing up?" _CRACK_.

"Good grief Mello," I whispered harshly, "you scared the crap out of me. What are you doing?"

"Midnight snack," _CRACK_.

"Is that all you ever eat?" He didn't answer so I asked another question, "Where am I?"

"In one of the spare rooms on the base." I nodded as it all started to come back to me. The late night investigating... "So is that it? Can I leave now?" Ouch, okay, I'll try not to take THAT one personally. I felt beside me and when I didn't find what I was looking for, I froze.

"W-wait!" I stuttered.

"What?"

"I don't have Virginia," I whined.

"Ver-ginia?"

"You know, the teddy bear L gave me," I cried. "I haven't spent a night without her since he gave her to me," I whimpered.

He didn't do anything for a moment, then after a heavy sigh he said, "C'mon let's go." He held out his right hand to me and I accepted it eagerly. "You know most teddy bears are gender neutral," he informed as he lead me down dark hallways and dark corridors; I suppressed a chuckle.

"Most?" he looked back at me and I arched my eyebrow at him. A little ways in front of us a light was glowing in another room. We walked in and there was no doubt in my mind whose room it was. Black leather, a dark red coat, and a bunch of cardboard boxes like Mello hadn't bothered to unpack after moving in.

We stood in the doorway for a moment, Mello's gaze roaming over the scattered boxes. After focusing on one he walked over to it, but before opening it decided on the one right beside it. He shuffled whatever was in it, and after a moment pulled out a handful of fluff.

On closer inspection I could tell it was threadbare... bunny? Fur that had probably once been white was now a sickly gray, and where patches of fur were missing the stuffing was peaking out. I looked up from the bunny to Mello with curiosity.

"Here," Mello unceremoniously tossed the bunny to me, as if it was less sentimental to him than Virginia was to me; anything to look tough. "It's not, 'Virginia' but it should help." I appraised the ancient stuffy in my hands and instantly beamed.

"Thank you Mello," ...for letting me borrow your bunny, AND for giving me an excuse to give you a hug without it seeming awkward. I smiled playfully to myself as I took a couple steps into the room and wrapped my arms around Mello's waist.

I sighed blissfully; I'd wanted to do this for so long... I mean, of course I wanted to hit him too, for skipping out and everything, but one thing at a time.

I longed to extend the hug, but I don't think Mello had moved, let alone breathed since I'd latched onto him. Couldn't have him dying because he was too stubborn to take a breath now could I? I grudgingly let go, and kept my head down as I ducked out of the room. I couldn't let him see my blush either.

Suddenly, I thought of something. "Hey Mello," I turned back into the room, "what's its name?" He stared blankly at me for a moment, I waited for an answer but none came. "Well okay, thanks again, good night." I smiled and turned to go; but in the darkness of the hallway I heard it...

"Rupert."

I beamed as I made my way back to my room. Rupert wasn't Virginia, but he was loved and cherished; he was loved and cherished by someone I loved and cherished. He was perfect, Mello and the bunny.

* * *

><p>I woke up at noon; I woke up a mess. I'd slept peacefully after my post-midnight rendezvous with Mello, but that doesn't mean I was in any kind of shape to be seen by people, let alone people who were guys. My hair was a mess and my clothes were dishevelled. I could disguise my morning breath with bubblegum, but that doesn't mean I had no plans to brush. I knew I should've gone home last night.<p>

I fixed myself up as best as I could with no clean clothes, makeup or a shower, and found my way back to the main room in the complex. Mello and a bunch of the guys were already sitting on the couch. Did these guys ever do anything; anything productive anyway?

"Mello, I need to head back to my place. I'll be back in a while." I grabbed my jean jacket off the couch where I'd dropped it last night and checked to make sure the files on the Kira case were still on the table. I wasn't too sure about how comfortable I was leaving them here, but so long as Mello was looking after them.

To my surprise Mello lifted himself off the couch; was he coming with me? "I've been stuck inside for too long, I'm coming with you," Mello answered my silent question. Road trip with Mello? Cool. I decided the files would be fine. I doubted most of these guys could read anyway. The only problem would be if they tried to do arts-and-crafts with them.

"Sweet car," Mello complimented as he headed for the driver's side. Uh, no. Not happening.

"Uh, What're you doing?" I asked, pulling my keys out of my pocket.

"Driving," his tone implied that I was a total idiot for not having realised it already.

"That's MY car! That's my BABY!" He narrowed his eyes at me; I did the same to him and then tossed him the keys. Infuriating imbecile. "You better not get even one scratch on 'er!" I ordered. We both got in and just over two hours later we were parked outside of my apartment.

"You know, it'd be more efficient if you just moved into the base. You wouldn't keep having to drive back and forth," Mello brought up before I got out of the car.

Leave my job to move in with a bunch of huge smelly guys, to work on a case I thought I'd left behind years ago, so that I could help the guy I was more or less in love with to beat my big brother at his own game... Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do. I just sighed and mentally rolled my eyes at myself. "I'll think about it."

"Well you might as well decide now. You're already here so you can just grab what you need instead of coming to back again," good grief he was pushy wasn't he.

"Fine, I'll grab a box of stuff, enough for a couple days. I don't plan on living the rest of my life out at that roach motel." I made a move to get out of the car but Mello didn't flinch. "You coming in?"

"Nope," he pulled a chocolate bar from his coat pocket and started crunching on it. Fine; he was so frustrating.

"Well I need my keys," I said haughtily. He pulled them out of the ignition and tossed them to me.

I stormed into my building and up to the second floor.

I stuck the key into my lock and turned. In ten seconds I would realise that I hadn't heard the deadbolt slide back even though my door was supposed to be locked.

The first thing that caught my attention when I opened my door was the unmistakable sound of 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Greenday, coming from my bedroom. Well, at least whoever broke in had good taste in music; I a stealthily reached my hand into the coat closet and pulled out my Louisville Slugger. Shit was going to go down. I crept silently to my bedroom and kicked open the door.

My Crappy-Day-O-Metre just reached an 11 on a scale from 1-10. "What the hell are you doing in my room!"

"Where were you last night Jewel? I came over for a friendly visit and you were nowhere to be found." So he let himself in!

"One: get out of my room. Two: Answer my question. Three: None of your business."

Carter picked up the stereo remote from my bed which he was laying on, and shut off the music. "Who's that she-male you drove up with?" I switched my gaze from inside the bedroom to the living room window which looked out onto the street. Sure enough, it was open.

"One: get out of my room. Two: Answer my question. Three: None of your business."

"You're getting awfully defensive Jewel," he sneered.

"Well excuse me for being slightly annoyed at finding you in my room!" I hollered.

"Jewel..."

"So help me Carter, if you don't get out this instant!"

"You'll what? Call your gay friend from outside? What's he going to do, hit me with his purse?"

A lot of things can happen in one second. It only takes one second for a telephone signal to travel 100,000 miles, and for a hummingbird to beat its wings up to 70 times. A cheetah can dash 34 yards in one second, and it only takes one second to be sucker punched.

I yowled in pain when I hit the floor. I'd landed on my bruised side which was still sore from the beating I'd taken the other day. I was winded, so I couldn't fight back when Carter kneeled down and pinned my hands above my head.

"Get. Off." I demanded.

"Who's going to make me?"

"I am." Carter turned around, and I looked past him, only to see Mello standing with a gun poised at Carter's head. The click was deafening as Mello cocked the gun. "You're going to want to get out of here, now." Mello's tone was so cool and collected, but the threat behind it was obvious.

"You're going to shoot me friend?" Carter asked mockingly.

"I, am NOT, your friend." This time Carter seemed to take Mello seriously. He released my wrists and stood up.

"Heh, all this for that little trick?" Carter asked, indicating me; I scowled up at him from the floor. He was still just miffed that I'd dumped him. We'd only gone out for a couple months; you'd think he would've gotten over it. But then Narcissists like him were probably used to having things go their way.

"Get out." Mello said again. Carter sneered one last time at Mello and then turned to leave. "And leave that spare key genius." I heard the clink of metal as Carter tossed the spare key on the kitchen counter as he left.

We both starred after him for a moment before Mello turned back to me. "Nice guy," Mello said wryly.

"You have no idea." Mello held his hand out to help me up and I readily accepted.

"So who was that clown?"

"Ex."

Mello said nothing at first and then responded with, "Why'd you get rid of him?"

"You mean besides the obvious?" I asked rhetorically. "He was a jerk, and I don't know, we just didn't click. We... we weren't friends, if I'm going to go out with a guy I want him to be my friend, not just some arm candy. And besides," I winked, "he's not my type."

"What's your type?" Mello asked, trying to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

Me type? Mello, my 'type' is YOU. You're the only one I ever really wanted. I've dated about a dozen guys since I left Wammy's and I never felt anything towards them like I've felt towards you. Not even close, no guy could ever come close to meaning to me what you do. "Bad boys," a mischievous expression lit my face and I winked again. He might just get the idea... one day.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I do hope that I was correct in the fact's I presented for my "One Second" bit. If not, well I'm sorry. Just pretend I was right ;P Have a good day everyone, make mine by reviewing :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, it's so awesome to see so many people reading my story, makes my day :P Feel free to review and tell me what you think :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

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><p>"So this is your place eh?" Mello said as his eyes roamed over my apartment, assessing my life.<p>

"It gets the job done," I was so distracted after that incident with Carter I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing at the moment, I wasn't sure what I'd come back for.

"Impressive," he said, noting my glass chess set; I nodded. The first few moments after Carter had left had been a bit tense, but both of us had a tendency to shake things off and move on... well, MOST things. If Mello could swallow his pride when dealing with Near, and I could swallow my feelings of betrayal when dealing with Mello, well THEN I'd say we were mature and sophisticated.

"Okay, so five cent tour; living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom." I pointed to the rooms as I listed them off. It wasn't as though I'd needed to; it was just something to do.

"So, are you going to pack, or what?" Right, that's what I'd been doing. I wandered into my bedroom to try and find a box or a suitcase or a duffle bag, while Mello amused himself with my entertainment system in the living room. "You got any chocolate?" Mello called a minute later.

I doubted it; "Check in the kitchen, in the freezer."

"The freezer?"

"It lasts longer that way."

"Who in their right mind needs chocolate to last more than a day? Who waits that long to eat it?" Right, how foolish of me to think like that.

I pulled a duffle bag out of my closet, and threw it onto my bed. I still can't believe I was going through with this. It went against all my better judgement, all my logic, all my rationale... but it DID feel right in my heart, I suppose that's all that mattered.

I started tossing in clothes; undergarments, tee-shirts, flared-hipsters... this was such a bad idea.

I felt a presence behind me then and jumped five feet in the air when I turned around and saw Mello in my doorway. "For heaven's sake, it was bad enough you always sneaking up on me at Wammy's, but here too? You always did move like a ghost," I went back to my clothes.

"You still have that?" he asked, without looking over at me. I could only assume he meant the scarf. I looked over at the long, wide scarf hanging over my vanity mirror, the one that Mello had given me years and years ago.

When I'd first gotten it, I'd worn it folded in half width wise; because it was so wide it had covered over half my face. When I'd gotten older, and had started working on the Kira case with L, it had become the perfect tool to hide the bottom half of my face; Kira couldn't kill without a face. These days I still wore it like that, perched on my shoulders and wound around my neck once so that my mouth and nose were still hidden. If L was right (and there was no doubt in my mind that he was), and Light Yagami was Kira, then it would mean death to allow him, or anyone associated with him to see my face.

I reached over and fondled the ends of the scarf which could both hang down to my waist. Haggard from years of wear and tear, the ends had begun to unravel; and the dark, rich black it had once been, was now a faded coal colour.

"Of course I still wear it. Why wouldn't I?"

"Anybody'd think you'd've gotten a new one by now. Look at how old it is," he said, finally looking over.

I met his gaze, but looked over at the scarf again when he turned away. "I don't care how old it is," I paused, "it reminds me... of our friendship." I said quietly

Mello paused a moment and then said, "Yeah, like we were ever friends." Another stab to the heart with that same dull and rusted knife I'd encountered just two nights ago.

"I like to think we were," I said, even more quietly than I'd ever said anything.

"Whatever," and with that he turned and left the room, he left me to pack with silence, a bruised ego and a broken heart; why was I doing this again?

I threw into my duffle bag along with my clothes and toiletries: a month's supply of bubblegum, (something told me it wouldn't be lasting that long,) my Rubik's cube, Virginia, my cell, my computer software, and -as an afterthought on glancing around my room a second time- my modem and laptop. Might as well get this over quickly, it was obvious Mello didn't want me around any longer than I needed to be.

"Well," I said, going back into the main room with my duffle, "I'm ready. Let's just go."

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><p>After two hours and fifteen minutes of no verbal contact we were back at the base. I sure hated walking into it; it was hot and stuffy, and it smelled like the inside of an alcoholic's liver.<p>

The first thing I did was set up my modem. Working with dial-up was like trying to feed a baby mashed beets; not impossible, but messy and took long enough to try even a nun's patience... I'd hated beets as a child. I called my high-speed provider and had them transfer my account temporarily to the base's location.

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><p>The next couple weeks were pretty uneventful; a lot of sighing and bubblegum popping on my part, a lot of scowling and chocolate cracking on Mello's.<p>

The other men at the base seemed pretty uninterested in my presence, too engrossed in their own Mafia business to really care either way about me. That is, until this one day...

He'd had a little too much to drink, or maybe he'd just been waiting for everyone else to leave the complex. All the guys, including Mello had gone on some kind of secret mission; I'd mentally played the Mission Impossible theme song in my head as I watched them leave. They did however kindly leave one of their own behind to guard me. How nice of them.

Lee cast a rather large shadow when he stood in my doorway. I looked up from my computer and saw him leaning against the doorframe, the old wood creaking under his massive stature.

"Can I help you with something?" I yawned. Week after week of starring at computer screens was giving me such a pain in the neck; metaphorically AND literally.

I'd done some more digging into the recent actions of the Japanese task force, and had also looked into Near's recent movements. He was currently working with a government organisation on the other side of the U.S. called the SPK. After some research I'd discovered that most of members were CIA and FBI, it'd taken me only a moment to get their names, and I was worried Kira might already have them himself.

I yawned again waiting for Lee to give an answer to my question. "Lee...?"

"How's your ribs sweetie?" he cackled, and I instantly stiffened. Lee had more or less stayed out of my way since I'd moved in, why was he bringing this up now?

"They're fine," I replied suspiciously.

"You sure? Maybe I should just check them and find out for sure." It wasn't hard to figure out his motives after that. I mean, it wasn't hard to begin with, but I think I just didn't want to believe that this was really going to go there.

With the twisted grin on his face and the way he was staggering into my room, his thoughts were more apparent than the gab in our IQ scores. I closed my lap top and placed it on the floor on the other side of my bed.

"Just turn yourself around Lee," I instructed, standing up. "There's going to be a lot of trouble here if any of the other guys find out."

"The other guys? Ha, don't kid yourself honey, they don't care. Not even Mello," he snickered; I wasn't about to let him show how much that stung. "You should hear the way he stands up for you when the guys start talking about you... oh wait, that's right, he doesn't," Lee teased cruelly.

I felt my teeth gnash together and I pressed my mouth into a fine line. I furrowed my eyebrows and pulled my shoulders back. If Mello and I had anything in common, it was our temper.

"Get away from me Lee, I'm warning you. You couldn't take me before, and you certainly can't take me now."

"You had the upper hand before, you knew we were coming and we didn't know that you knew we were coming. But now, I know that you know I'm coming so I can be ready for the fact that you're ready." There was some kind of logic in there somewhere, I was sure of it.

I curled my lips back over my teeth, "Get out," I hissed. Yes I was a skilled street fighter, but he was right, we were both ready for the fight this time, he was more than double my size and probably a half decent street fighter himself. Not to mention all the things he's said about Mello had weakened my resolve to fight back.

I braced for a fight but I was caught completely off guard when Lee swept my feet out from underneath me. The worst part was I was still close enough to the bed that when I fell, my spine landed half on the bed and half not; I felt like a pipe cleaner, or rather, maybe one of those rulers that you think are bendy but you end up snapping it... yes, it was definitely the ruler scenario.

I squirmed as the Neanderthal lifted my up by the front on my shirt and roughly placed me back on the bed. He only let go of me for an instant, but that was enough time for me to roll off the other side of the bed. I landed on my knees and made an attempt to run past him at the end of the bed, but he shoved me back down onto the floor. I kicked up when he got close enough and caught him in his gut. I scrambled for the door as he doubled over, but before I could launch onto my feet, a bulky fist latched onto my right braid and I was pulled back down. I tried to bolt again, but he was still holding on and I felt hundreds of lush, silky threads pull away from my scalp. Lee was on his feet now; he grabbed me around the waist and threw me onto the bed with a little too much force. I did a backwards summersault and slammed into the wall behind the bed.

GotToGetOutOfHere,GotToGetOutOfHere,GotToGetOutOfHere, I wailed mentally. I rolled off the left side of the bed and made a b-line for the door.

Five feet was all that separated me from my freedom. Once I made it out that door I could easily make it out of the complex before Lee caught me; strong he was, fast, not so much.

Suddenly I tripped and felt something latch onto my ankle, my RIGHT ankle. My heart stopped and my blood froze solid in my veins. My predictable reaction to this situation gave a whole new meaning to 'a deer caught in the headlights.' I felt my ankle being twisted, I felt the strain on my muscles and tendons and bones. The pressure increased as Lee twisted my ankle more and more; I couldn't move.

_BANG!_

"Aiiie! Mello," Lee groaned, writhing on the floor. "What the fuck was that for man!"

I finally had enough courage to look up from the floor; Mello was standing in the doorway with a smoking gun. I met his gaze for only a moment and then I turned to look at my enemy. Both his hands were locked around his left knee; blood was seeping through his pant leg.

Out of nowhere Mello hauled me up from under my shoulders; I still wasn't sure if I was breathing or not.

"You're out of here Lee, you're through. I told you from day one you guys need to keep your hands to yourselves." Lee just groaned in response; I couldn't look at him so I was left staring into the leather vest Mello was wearing. I'd take the time LATER, to enjoy the fact that Mello and I had been in such close proximity to each other. "Get out now Lee, or you're going to lose your other kneecap too."

Mello wasn't one to mess around and Lee knew that, he struggled to his feet and hobbled out the door. Mello walked me a little further into the room, released his grip on my arms and then turned to leave. I prayed to God that I could find my voice.

"Mello!" I shouted, and he paused in the doorway without turning around.

"What?"

"Is that..." all you're going to do? "Don't you..." care at all about what just happened? "Isn't there..." anything you want to say to me? "I..." need someone right now, I need you. "Aren't you..." I was so angry, I was so scared, I was so insanely frustrated with this whole situation.

"..." There was a question in his silence; wonderings at all my half asked questions, all my stammering. I just hung my head. I had no answer for him, and I doubted that if had I asked my questions outright, that Mello would have any answers for me either.

"Look," he started, placing his gloved hand on the door frame. Somehow both his hands were empty; I hadn't seen what he'd done with the gun. "It's time for you to go back Jewel. I don't need you anymore and it's obvious you're just going to be a hindrance from here on in. I'm sending you back to your apartment, don't return to the base."

What was with him! Did he enjoy seeing me suffer; did he enjoy seeing me in pain? I almost would've rather taken my chances with Lee and my ankle than have Mello stab me in the heart once again. What was his problem? What was his egotistical problem? With the recent conflict with Lee now completely pushed from my mind, I got ready to really lay into Mello. if he wasn't going to take me back, I no longer had to worry about pissing him off.

"You know what! You're such a jerk..."

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> This chapter is a little bit shorter than the rest of them. See, I have another whole section to add onto this chapter to complete it, but had I added that part onto this installment, this chapter I think would've been way too long. So basically the next chapter is going to be a 'Part 2' of this one. I should have it up within the hour. Just because it's almost already done. I hope you guys are liking my story :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Like I mentioned before, had I tried to add this next bit to the last chapter it would've been a little too long, so just think of this as a direct continuation of the last one. I've added the last bit of the last chapter to the begining of this one, so that it's more fluid and easy to follow :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note or anything remotely associated with it.

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><p><em>What was with him! Did he enjoy seeing me suffer; did he enjoy seeing me in pain? I almost would've rather taken my chances with Lee and my ankle than have Mello stab me in the heart once again. What was his problem? What was his egotistical problem? With the recent conflict with Lee now completely pushed from my mind, I got ready to really lay into Mello. if he wasn't going to take me back, I no longer had to worry about pissing him off.<em>

_"You know what! You're such a jerk..."_

"A jerk? How am I a jerk? I just saved you a whole world of hurt."

"No, you just DEALT me a whole world of hurt. You've been so uncivil to me since I've gotten here," I jabbed my finger accusingly at him. "You, you treat me like in a piece of computer software and nothing more. We all know you're just using me to get to Kira and beat Near. And now, and now that you think that there isn't anything more I can contribute you're just casting me aside, you're getting rid of me, you're leaving me behind like you did all those years ago. It cut me so deeply when you left; you didn't even say goodbye!" I shrieked.

"You don't understand! I lost my idol and mentor the day that L died!"

"No, YOU don't understand! I lost my hero and big brother the day that L died! I watched him die Mello! He died right in front of my eyes!" I could feel them again, tears. I hadn't cried since that fateful day, and now it seemed like the dam it'd built up to keep all my tears inside was finally crumbling. "And yes," I muttered through my tears, "you lost out to Near that day, but what about me! I lost L, I lost Near, and then I lost you too." My voice broke on the last part of that sentence and the tears flowed freely.

A terribly tense silence passed between us, and then Mello said, "You know," he paused for what seemed like forever, "I heard you that day. I heard you calling me as I left Wammy's house."

I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I couldn't even breathe. What was I supposed to say to that? What was I even supposed to think about that? He heard me! He heard me and he left anyway?

"You jerk." I whispered and wrapped my arms around myself to keep myself from shaking. I was so cold, and so hot at the same time. I was so angry, and so sad.

I heard Mello turn around and start to walk away.

"So that's it?" I asked, a bitter poison in my tone. "Is that all you do when things get too difficult to deal with? You just walk away?" I paused, "You think you were the only one in pain, and you think you were the only one hurting?" I accused, and he stopped. "If you heard me... if you heard me, why'd you still leave!" I shouted, looking up at him. Why did I even ask that? Like Mello ever needed a reason to do anything, ever. Like Mello ever cared what he did or who he hurt. It wasn't his style to need a reason, it wasn't his style to care. I looked back down, and turned away to leave myself.

"And people say I'm emotional." He paused, "Look! This isn't about you! I left because I needed to! I came here to work on the Kira case, to catch Kira, to make him pay for what he did to L! Is this what you wanted! Can you honestly say you're okay with the way things turned out! Don't you want to catch Kira too? Don't you care at all about what happened to L? I know you! Sitting doing nothing shouldn't be good enough for you! You shouldn't care that I left when you compare it to something like L dying," he paused, "so why do you?" he asked accusingly.

"Because I... because I love you, damnit." I shouted in anger, his words had cut me so deeply, how dare he judge me, how dare he try to say that I didn't care about L, just because I wasn't as strong as him. But the strange thing, as angry as I was with him, I realised my words were true; I really did love Mello and I always would; no matter how pissed off I was at him. I had always loved him, all the way back to our days at Wammy's House. There hadn't been a day in my life, since he'd left that I hadn't thought about him, I'd missed him more than anything, more than I missed Near, more than I missed L. Did that make me a terrible person? Was it wrong for me to miss Mello more than I missed my older brother, more than I missed my best friend?

"Ahh!" I cried in frustration. I was so angry at life, at the way everything had been going. My face was getting hot, and all the angry tears that had built up over the years were falling from my eyes. I was so furious. I hadn't been this angry since L died. All I could hear was myself shrieking, and yet I wasn't making a sound. I balled my hands into fists, and scrunched them up to my face. I needed to hit something. I swung around, fist in the air, ready to catch Mello in the face. I changed my target at the last second though, and ended up putting my fist through the top of the end table beside my bed.

I turned to storm out. I needed to ice my hand, but he didn't need to know that; I held in my cry of pain... physical pain had always been easier for me to endure than emotional.

I only made it two steps away before Mello caught my wrist; I winced from the contact.

"What are you doing!"

"I am a certifiable genius Jewel. I can explain to you thousands of physics laws and biological principles to justify my reasoning behind getting you ice, however I think telling you that, 'you just broke your hand' will be enough."

Smart ass

Mello lead me rather roughly through the corridors to the makeshift kitchen in the East side of the building.

"Sit down," he all but pushed me down onto one of the rusty metal chairs.

Mello opened a drawer and pulled out a washcloth (you'd never suspect that they had any of those laying around here,) and then dug in the freezer for the ice tray. After cracking a generous helping of ice into the cloth, Mello came over, sat in the chair beside me, took my hand gently in his, and applied the ice. My troubles almost melted away right then and there. I breathed out a sigh of contentment.

After a moment I could sense Mello wanted to say something. "What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing, if it were nothing you wouldn't be sitting over there brooding."

"..."

"That's it, I'm out of here." I didn't need to take this, he was just being ridiculous (maybe we both were but that wasn't the point. We were allowed to act like children if we wanted to/ Mello was just barely an adult, even if he wasn't technically legal yet, and I wasn't even eighteen.) "Are you happy Mello? You got what you want; you got all the information I have on Kira, AND you don't have to deal with me anymore. Have a nice life."

I stormed up to my room and began furiously throwing my clothes and other various possessions into the duffle bag I'd used when I first moved in; being careful of course of my injured hand. Once I'd packed everything up a grabbed my jacket, my keys and I stormed out of the building.

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><p>It was a long and lonely ride home. I probably shouldn't have been driving with a broken hand, heck, I probably shouldn't have been driving in my emotional state either, but I was at that place where even if I was in a car accident and died, I was sure it would hurt less than living at the moment.<p>

I arrived at my apartment a little over two hours later, physically and emotionally exhausted. I made my way up to the second floor in a complete stupor. I tossed my bag gently on the love seat and crawled into bed without even bothering to change. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

_The rain was pouring and my eyes were burning trying to hold back my tears, and it wouldn't work for much longer. I hadn't cried since before I could remember. I'd never needed to; there had been nothing in my life worth crying over. Not even pain, I'd always had a high tolerance for pain. But this wasn't like physical pain, this was emotional pain, and it cut much more deeply than any physical pain I'd ever known. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and looked out at the street from my window._

_L wasn't dead. He couldn't be. He was much smarter than Kira, he wouldn't have been beaten by him. At any moment now, any moment I'd see L walking down the street, through the rain, and turn to come into Wammy's House._

_No, he was dead, I'd seen it myself. I could see him there before me, mid-sentence he just stopped. His body falling towards the floor, caught by Light. Light had held L, while he died... L had died. _

_I pulled the teddy bear off the chair beside me and buried my face in it. I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't cry. I just needed something else to think about. I slowed my laboured breathing for a moment, and listened. Through the floor below me I could hear a voice, a raised voice. Someone was shouting; it sounded like Mello. Was Roger telling Mello what had happened? _

_Suddenly a door slammed, and I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs, and down the hall where another door slammed. I went back to gazing out the window, but was pulled out of my trance when the door down the hallway slammed again, followed by the footsteps. Down the stairs this time. I took little interest in them, until I realised their significance. Out the window I watched Mello, suitcase in hand, start heading down the street._

_What! No! Mello!_

_I launched myself off the window seat and through my door, and all but breaking my neck as I raced down the stairs and out the front door._

"_Mello!" I cried as I raced down the walkway of Wammy's House. "Mello!" I cried again as I made it to the street. He couldn't leave too! No! I'd just lost L, and now Mello was leaving too! "Mello!" I cried, and I was no longer able to hold back my tears. Like a dam being breached it seemed like my tears flowed down my face in a flood. I scanned up the street and down, but between my glasses and my tears I could barely tell the time of day. "Mello! Please wait! Don't leave!" Did he go left? Or right? I ran to my right, teddy bear still in hand, "Mello!" The world got more obscure as my tears got thicker. "Mello," I sobbed. I was running harder now, paying no attention to where I was going, I was completely unaware of where I was, until I heard it, the blood curdling screech of car brakes as the two ton machine skidded towards me._

The searing pain in my right ankle had me shrieking myself awake. I grabbed my foot, and held it hard, attempting to squeeze out the pain; but of course in using both my hands, the broken one started to sting along with my ankle. Life REALLY sucked at the moment.

I ran my good hand over the waves of my comforter looking for Virginia; and then it occurred to me, I'd left her at the mafia headquarters. Someone please just shoot me now.

_CRACK_

"Looking for this?" I froze.

A split-second later something soft and poufy hit me in the face. I scooped Virginia into my arms and asked, "What are you doing here Mello?"

"You left your teddy bear at the base," right, like he came two hours, in the middle of the night (I noted the time on my LED clock,) just to return Virginia.

"How'd you get in here?"

"Spare key. I took it from the table where Carter left it," he said it so nonchalantly; like he'd just told me it was dark outside.

"Uh-huh." I don't think anything he told me would surprise me anymore. "How long were you..."

"Bad dream?" Mello interrupted, throwing my early morning thoughts for a loop.

"Uh, yeah. How long were you..."

"Well I should get going." He said in a monotone. Jeeze, he was starting to sound just like Near.

I threw the covers off of myself and stood up. "You didn't come just to return Virginia Mello. I may not've been in the top three at Wammy's, but I'm not stupid. You could've waited until morning to bring her back."

"You've only ever spent one night without her; you wouldn't have been able to fall asleep without her. And case in point, you sitting there having a panic attack."

"It wasn't a panic attack; it was a nightmare for your information." I waited a moment, "What are you doing here Mello, I want the truth." There were just too many holes in his story, like hell he came back just so I could get goodnights sleep.

"What do you want me to say Jewel! You want me to tell you that I love you! That I loved you from the first moment I saw you from the top of the stairs at Wammy's!" I couldn't believe I was hearing this. "You want me to tell you that I wish I never left you! That I wish I'd been there for you after L died!" I swear I was going to have a heart attack right then and there; it felt like my heart was ready to leap out of my chest. Was he being serious? Was he really trying to tell me that all these things he was saying were true, where was this coming from... WHAT WAS GOING ON! It was far too early in the morning to be dealing with this sort of thing

"M-Mello?"

"Jewel did you... did you mean what you said earlier or not?" Was he talking about when I'd said that I loved him?

I couldn't find my voice. I knew what was going to happen. I was going to wake up and this was going to all have been a dream. ALL of it, maybe even all the way back to this afternoon. Maybe I was still at the base, maybe the guys hadn't left Lee to guard me.

If I hadn't been sure it was a dream before, I was definitely sure it was now; the silhouetted Mello had closed the two foot space between us and wrapped his arms around me. I gasped loud enough for the whole building to hear as the air escaped my lungs. My heart was hammering in my chest, craving the oxygen that I just couldn't seem to supply.

"Jewel," Mello whispered into my neck and a soft sigh resounded in the darkness as I accepted the moment and leaned into Mello's chest. I don't know how long we stayed like that; time had altogether stopped for me in that moment. But I didn't mind, as far as I was concerned, that moment could last for the rest of my life.

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><p>I woke up alone in my bed. So it had been a dream... at least the only good part of the day had. If I was in my bed back home that meant I really had had a fight with Mello. I sat up and used my good arm to support me, the other hand I laid carefully beside me. I felt fluff under my hand though and looked down. I guess I hadn't forgotten Virginia like my dream had suggested. Well good, then I didn't have to go back.<p>

Suddenly the smoke alarm started buzzing! I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway which adjoined to the kitchen; I was greeted by a cloud of smoke. I looked through the smog filled kitchen, and upon seeing no fire, my eyes fell on the source of the smoke.

"Toaster's broken," Mello informed me.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Well that took a little longer than an hour. But in my own defence it was because I couldn't find a particular document. See, I have most of the skeleton work for this story all planned out right, well I went to find a filler piece I'd saved for this chapter, and low and behold it's gone! No idea where it went. I checked each and every document twice over. It's disappeared lol. So anyway, I just have to say that I had planned for Mello's confession of love to run a little more fluidly but in the absence of the filler and my promise for a speedy upload, this was how it turned out. I hope you still liked it though :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I've been pretty busy lately, and I'm kind of stuck in this one little arc right here. I'm trying to keep it exciting, but at the same time realistic and following the theme of the series, so yeah. But hey, I've got a couple ideas I think are pretty cool, and if I can just make it to where my story joins the series it's going to be really awesome! I've practically got the whole canon bit worked out. So anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it. Nor do I own the poem "What My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

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><p><em>I woke up alone in my bed. So it had been a dream... at least the only good part of the day had. If I was in my bed back home that meant I really had had a fight with Mello. I sat up and used my good arm to support me, the other hand I laid carefully beside me. I felt fluff under my hand though and looked down. I guess I hadn't forgotten Virginia like my dream had suggested. Well good, then I didn't have to go back.<em>

_Suddenly the smoke alarm started buzzing! I jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway which adjoined to the kitchen; I was greeted by a cloud of smoke. I looked through the smog filled kitchen, and upon seeing no fire, my eyes fell on the source of the smoke._

"_Toaster's broken," Mello informed me._

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><p>"You know, you should really look after that hand," Mello suggested, glancing at my slightly swollen fingers.<p>

"Probably," I agreed, staring down at my hand. I can't believe he'd stayed, I can't believe that hadn't been a dream, I can't believe... that I hadn't broken a single nail when I'd punched that table. I checked the ends of my fingers, and sure enough, each nail was still perfectly manicured. I checked my left hand as well and found the same thing. And some people don't believe in miracles.

A knocking at the door pulled me back into the room and I realised the smoke alarm was still going off.

"Oh crap Mello, you want to open the window and fan that alarm for me? I'll get the door." I straightened my rumpled clothes (I really needed to stop sleeping in them,) and thanked God that I kept my hair in braids, my hair rarely ever looked as dishevelled as the rest of me. I opened the door. "Oi, Mrs. Young."

"My dear girl, I heard the fire alarm going off from down stairs, is everything alright up here?" The sweet elderly lady from room 113 tried to look past me into my apartment.

"Just a small problem with the toaster ma'am," I stepped to the side to allow her to confirm that there was in fact nothing to worry about.

"Oh, what's the problem with the toaster?" A crazy, psychotic, genius with an inferiority complex that may or may not love me, tried to operate it without adult supervision. THAT'S the problem with the toaster.

"It's broken," Mello cut in from the living room, where he'd taken a tea towel and was fanning the smoke alarm. I sighed dejectedly, how does a genius break a toaster? I stole a glimpse at the toaster on the counter. It looked normal enough. It'd stopped smoking and it wasn't as though it'd grown a face and fangs since I'd last used it. I just shook my head.

"Oh dear, I didn't know you had, 'company,'" she'd overemphasised that word, why had she overemphasised that word! I felt my eyes grow wide and my mouth fall open. "Oh dear, you don't have to be ashamed, it's about time you brought a nice fellow to visit," oh my gosh, tell me she wasn't going there! "Even if he does break toasters," she winked at me. "Now dear, there's no reason to blush," Yes, because telling me that I'm blushing is definitely not going to make me blush even more. "Well I'll leave you two alone," she said in an all too suggestive voice. For an old lady she didn't fit the sweet, innocent stereotype that most people associated with a gray haired granny like her. After she turned to go I slammed the door behind her.

"Now," I said, turning to face Mello, "what pray tell did you do to my toaster?

Mello came back into the kitchen, opened a cupboard and placed a jar of Nutella on the counter. Of course. "I hope you didn't put the Nutella on the bread BEFORE you put it in the toaster."

* * *

><p>After breakfast I sat down on one end of the love seat, and to my disappointment Mello took the recliner. He would.<p>

We sat in silence for a moment. Mello's eyes roamed the apartment and I wondered what he thought of it. It wasn't anything terrible; a little small maybe, but cozy and comfortable. My living room was too small for a couch, so I had a love seat, a recliner, a coffee table, and a nice little entertainment centre. I didn't watch a whole lot of TV or movies, but my stereo system really brought my music to life. I couldn't live without my music.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, unable to take any silence, awkward or otherwise.

"Plan?"

"Yeah, what are we doing next?" I asked tentatively, I hadn't liked the tone he'd just used.

"Next?"

"Is there an echo in here? Yes! Next! What are we going to do? More investigating, more surveillance?"

"Uh, Jewel, I kind of told you yesterday, that what I do next is no concern of yours. You're out, you're not a part of my Kira investigation anymore."

It was FAR too early in the morning for this. "Excuse me!"

"What I said yesterday still stands." He must've seen the shocked expression on my face because he continued, "You don't think that just because I came back last night to give you your bear that I would've changed my mind and let you back onto the base."

Uh yeah, I kind of did! What about everything he'd said last night! Or had I only imagined it? I was too awestruck to actually voice my questions.

"Look, regardless of our pasts, whatever happened back then, whatever happened last night, nothing changes the fact that working on this case is dangerous for you!"

"It wasn't too dangerous for you to drag me back into this in the first place. And besides, I can handle myself!"

"Jewel, this is my call. I don't care what's going on or how either of us feels, you're not coming back to the base and you're not working on this case anymore period. It's too dangerous!"

"What's dangerous is the fact that you almost burned down my apartment." I pointed my finger at the toaster. He said nothing. "So that's it then? You bring me into this because you think you can use me, you end up falling in love with me again, realise that you've put me in jeopardy, and now you're going to ignore your feelings and just let me go again?"

"I have to do the right thing here."

"YOU JOINED THE MAFIA! Where was your resolve to do the right thing when you did that!"

"Look, I just can't let you be put in danger like this. You say Kira is Light Yagami, that means that he knows your face. One little slip on our part and your name ends up in the paper."

"The only one who's left who knows my real name is Near, and he's on the other side of the country!"

"What about the second Kira, the one that only needs a face?"

"If you want to bring that up, I can say the same thing to you! Hell I can say the same thing to Near for all I care. If you want to play the 'Second Kira' card, you might as well have us all go into hiding."

"It's not just Kira you know," he was probably referring to the incident at the base the other night.

"I'm not afraid of those cavemen," I asserted.

"You are so stubborn!"

"And you're not!"

"Jewel..."

"You know what Mello, fine." I let my arms fall to my side in defeat. "If you don't want me around, if you're willing to let me go like this again," I shook my head; I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice or the disappointment off my face.

I got off the love seat and headed for the kitchen. I opened the fridge and finally found something edible. I brought my bag of baby carrots and dip back to the love seat and started munching.

"Jewel..."

"Just leave me alooone," I wailed, and forcefully dunked another baby carrot into the bowl of dip on my lap. I popped it into my mouth and crunched the orange stick viciously.

"Man, someone's on PMS." And with that, in one fluid movement I threw the bag of remaining carrots at Mello's head.

"Smart ass. If I WERE on my period, you, and every other chauvinist male on the planet would've been shot dead by now."

"Look Jewel, I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I know I'm doing the right thing by not letting you back."

"So then, there isn't anything else you want to apologize for!" I accused without looking at him; I'd been staring at the blank television screen, as if the most interesting show alive had been on.

I finally turned to gauge his reaction, his answer to my question. His eyes said it all, 'No.' I turned wordlessly back to the TV. The silence in the room was deafening, and I half wondered if he hadn't left already. If he'd snuck out without a sound.

"See you around Jewel," I heard suddenly.

"See you around Mello," I said bitterly, and with that, the door slammed shut.

* * *

><p>'No, this is a good thing,' I told myself hours later as I paced around the kitchen. 'I can get my life back now; I didn't want to deal with this Kira investigation anymore anyway. I left it behind me a long time ago, and that's where it's going to stay now.' I continued pacing for lack of anything better to do. 'I can get my old life back, I can go back to what I was doing like none of this ever happened.' I found it oddly difficult to remember what I'd been doing before Mello felt the need to disrupt my life. 'And that's another thing, how insensitive was he...' I went on like that for another good hour before I finally decided to calm down and figure out my life from here on in.<p>

''Kay, first things first...' I called my boss and made sure I was put back on the schedule. I'd gotten out of work the past couple of weeks on the premise that I needed some time off for mental health. If anything, it was NOW, that I should be taking off for mental health. By the time this Kira case was over I'd need years of therapy.

The weeks that followed my dismissal from Mello's Kira investigation were the most boring I think I've ever had to endure in my whole life. There was a poem I recalled from my day's at Wammy's, a poem that I do believed summed up my situation...

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,  
>I have forgotten, and what arms have lain<br>Under my head till morning; but the rain  
>Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh<br>Upon the glass and listen for reply,  
>And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain<br>For unremembered lads that not again  
>Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.<br>Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,  
>Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,<br>Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:  
>I cannot say what loves have come and gone,<br>I only know that summer sang in me  
>A little while, that in me sings no more.<p>

We'd had a lengthy discussion about it in class, and at the time had found it to be an insult to my intelligence to have to discuss something so obviously transparent. As much as I loved poetry, and believe you me, poetry is my life; I don't think I appreciated the full meaning of the poem until now. For it was one thing to understand a poem, it is indeed another thing to LIVE a poem.

The long and the short of it, was that as much as I claimed that Mello's short, but glaring presence in my life hadn't affected me it had. As well, because he'd come and gone, I noticed his absence far more than I would have otherwise. Or in other words, 'you never know what you had, until it's gone.'

* * *

><p>I was reading another glorious poem, one by the talented Robert Frost, when my co-worker interrupted me on my break.<p>

"Are you alright?" she asked over my book.

"Mmm."

"You haven't been quite yourself since you've been back it seems."

"Mmm."

"I mean, you always were really quiet, but it's kinda like you're more, I dunno, spaced out than usual."

"Mmm." I responded again, never once having looked up from my pages of poetry.

"It's a boy isn't it?" Wrong question.

"Has my work been affected by my apparent absentmindedness?"

She seemed caught off guard by my question for a moment. "Uh, no?"

"I still perform the tasks assigned to me in an efficient and timely manner?"

"Well, yes but..."

"So what's the problem?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Well, nothing's the problem; but that's not the point. I'm worried about you," she said, nothing but genuine concern in her voice and I sighed. If I was going to avoid the nagging, invasive questions about my life I was going to have to make more of an effort; I was going to have to be more agreeable.

I smiled up at my fellow barista; "You know what, you're absolutely right. I think I've just been a little worn out. I am going to go home today and take a nice long bath and have a total 'me' night." I pointed in the air to emphasise my resolve.

She smiled back at me and I knew she'd bought it. The people I'd met during my time in the city were all the same; sure they were nice enough, but it was all for formality. Social constructs dictated what questions to ask and when to ask them; what questions to not ask, and when to not ask questions at all. A fake smile and they'd stay off my back, it was guaranteed.

* * *

><p>I worked through the rest of my shift and then went home. Once they I figured why not hold up on my promise to my concerned co-worker and actually did take a soothing soak in my tub. It was so relaxing and peaceful, I fell asleep.<p>

"_L! You're back!" I cried delightedly. I ran and jumped into his arms, and he lifted me into the air._

"_Why hello, how are you?"_

"_Better now that you're back," I giggled. "Did you solve your case? Of course you did, what am I saying?" I teased._

_L smiled and set me down, "Here, I've brought you something," he told me, as he fished a teddy bear out of a bag he'd brought with him._

_It was a glorious thing; so soft, and so fuzzy. It had a cute red ribbon tied in a bow around its neck, and the symbol of a Virgo, my star sign, sewn onto its right shoulder._

"_Oh L! I just love it!" I smiled up at him._

"_Thought you might. Happy birthday kiddo."_

"_You remembered." I beamed._

"_Of course I did." Of course he did. I didn't think L ever forgot anything. Not a single detail eluded him. He was the best detective in the world after all._

"_I hope you didn't forget Near," I teased again._

"_Me? Never." And he pulled out another gift from the bag, for my twin brother. It was a plain white puzzle, not a single distinguishable mark on it; 10,000 pieces. "I think the one I gave him last year was a little too easy, what with having an L on it." And we laughed together._

"_You're the best L, thank you so much," and I hugged him again, my face in his stomach, and my arms reaching up as far as they could, not quite making it to his shoulders. "L, will I ever be as tall as you?" I asked._

"_You'll get taller. Maybe not as tall as me, but you'll get taller. You're only eight after all."_

"_Yes but, what if I just stop growing?"_

"_Well then I guess you'll just always have to be this cute." And he smiled down at me._

"_You're the best L."_

My eyes opened slowly, sadly. I dried off and went to bedroom to get ready to sleep. There, on the end of my bed, was my eighth birthday present.

I stared down at the teddy bear on my bed. It was worn with many years of abuse; patches here and there and the ribbon had needed to be sewn back together a number of times. The stitching for the Virgo symbol had started to unravel and so had a number of the seams. How many years had it been now? Almost ten? I took that darned thing everywhere. There wasn't any time that I ever left it behind. I picked it up, held it close to my chest, and buried my face in its head.

"L."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So again, I hope you liked the chapter. The poem I used was an actual poem we analysed in my English class. It seemed to fit more nicely with the story when it was still in my head. Oh well ha-ha. Feel free to review and tell me what you think of it; if you like it, if you hate it, what I could do to improve, etc. The next chapter I'm starting from scratch, so it may take me a while to type it up, however, I've got it all planned out, so at the same time it shouldn't take too long ;P


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Yay, I did it! I was hoping to update by today :) Because... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I'm so stoked ^_^ But man do I feel old; like it's time for me to be mature and responsible or something lol. Go ahead and listen to Bryan Adam's "18 'Til I Die" on YouTube. It's the song I'm going to/have been listening to ALL day because of the occasion.

I hope you guys like this chapter, it's quite a bit shorter than the others, I wasn't sure what else I could add without repeating myself. I'm hoping to draw my story into the series timeline very soon, and it's going to get really intense after that ;D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note or anything remotely associated with it. Nor do I own Bryan Adam's song, '18 'Til I Die'.

* * *

><p><strong>August 13 2012<strong>

I thought that after two months of having nothing to do with Mello or the Kira investigation, that my life would realign with how it'd been before this whole fiasco began... It was one of the only times in my life where I'd ever thought wrong. Nothing could distract my thoughts from the case these days. The harder I tried to force it from my mind, the harder it forced itself back. I'd dare anybody on the planet to argue with Newton's Third Law of Motion after this.

There had to be something I could do; anything! I was getting sick and tired of pacing pointlessly around my apartment.

'Okay, calm down Jay' I told myself, I just have to think about this logically. Mello doesn't want me on this case because he's afraid I'm going to get hurt. He wouldn't listen to cold hard logic about the subject; I'd already tried that. So what was left? I had to PROVE to him that I couldn't be hurt by Kira; I mean, of course I probably could, but that was beside the point.

So, how do I prove it to him then? I placed my thumb under my lip and with my other hand, reached into pocket and pulled out a pack of bubblegum.

Time for a plan.

* * *

><p>I spent all night formulating what I was going to do; figuring all the angles, calculating through all the variables. I called into work the next day and asked for more time off; told my boss I needed a maternity leave. I hoped that one wouldn't come back to bite me.<p>

My idea would take some time, careful planning, and accurate calculations. I spent the next week hacking into Mello's computer system, and trying to figure out what he was up to. Judging by the files on Mello's hard drive he'd dug deeper into the organization Near was running. He was using their files to aid his own objective, and it looked as though he'd made friends with a couple of Near's team; he was in contact with them and using them to get information that hadn't been stored on any computers. But it looked as though Near and the SPK weren't any farther along in the investigation than L had been; even less so in fact, but they did know about the Notebook.

There wasn't much more I imagined I could offer to the case, nothing that involved sitting behind a desk at least. What I was going to do put me right back in the line of fire, but it was necessary. It was the one thing that neither the SPK nor Mello was doing. It was the one thing I could do to help this investigation.

The next day I went into town; I went shopping. It was time for a new look.

Five hundred dollars later and I'd traded in my traditional flared, acid-wash hipsters for a dark-wash miniskirt and gray leggings. I'd traded in my All-Star Converse High-tops for a scandalously tall pair of wedges. My AC/DC tee-shirt had been replaced with a tight v-neck and my jean jacket was now a leather duplicate. I'd visited a wig shop and found a nice little black bouffant to cover my three feet of silver hair. It was a lot of hair to hide, but I'll tell you, it would have been a lot harder to hide black hair under silver than the other way around. I'd taken a trip to an accessory store next. I found some chains and metal. lace and leather. I found a huge pair of jet black aviator sunglasses to hide my eyes, and afterwards I'd gone to a drug store for some black nail polish and new colours of eye shadow and lip-gloss. While I was there I picked up some coloured contacts that fit my prescription; a nice violet colour. However, if the aviators did their job I wouldn't need the contacts for their colour.

After a week of brushing up on my Japanese and a fair amount of time getting the proper documentation in order, I was ready to put my plan into effect.

I started trailing Mello, making sure not to be seen. Taking detailed notes on his activities and those of his men. Weeks on end and not one of them noticed me. I watched for patterns and habits, oddities and phenomenon's. I was testing myself every step of the way; how close could I get without being seen, how far ahead of me could I let them get before I lost them?

* * *

><p>I'd been watching him for weeks now; it was time for the final stage of my plan.<p>

I timed it out in my head and started walking towards him. If my calculations were correct (and there was no doubt in my mind that they were,) we would meet up right in front of the Salon des Cheveux.

"Excuse me ma'am!" I said in a scandalous voice as I passed him, "You've got such lovely blonde hair; I hope you're not going into that salon. Why on earth would you want to cut such lovely locks! A woman like you should pride herself on having hair like yours, why destroy something so lovely?" I asked teasingly, flipping my fingers through the ends of his hair; killing myself trying not to laugh and killing myself trying not to do more.

"Because I'm a guy!" Mello shouted, completely exasperated. "And I'm not even going into the salon smart one."

"Ha-ha, MELLOW out dude, I was only kidding." The reaction on his face was subtle but there. He was freaked out. It'd taken a lot not to accidentally blurt out my customary 'good grief' after that sentence. Quite pointedly I began playing with the barbell in my left ear to keep myself from biting my lip or popping a stick of bubble gum in my mouth. He wasn't getting it, "Well then, enjoy your hair cut," I turned and started to leave; and started counting down from three in my head.

3...2...1...

"Jewel!" I still got it. I should've known; the hardest thing to disguise about someone is the way they walk.

I completely lost my composure and a chorus of laughter erupted from my lungs. I heard Mello storming up behind me; I don't think he was too impressed.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming back!"

* * *

><p>Before too long we were back at the base, and in a heated debate.<p>

I looked at him earnestly, "You did what you thought you had to do by leaving me behind. I'm doing what I think I need to do by coming back." Mello had been right all along. Not standing up to Kira was a total flake-out on my part. I couldn't let L down.

"I'm not going to sacrifice the queen for a checkmate." Mello asserted.

Mello and I starred coldly at each other, and the tension in the room was all but palpable. A few of the guys around us were shifting uncomfortably, awkwardly coughing and probably wondering how on Earth they could make their way out of the room unnoticed.

Just like the first time.

"Checkmate huh?" that gave me an idea. I smiled slyly as I asked, "Do you still play Mello? Are you still any good at chess?"

"Last time I checked I was still good at chess." We replayed our words to each other perfectly but the other's words, and not our own.

"I'll make you a deal. You have one game with me; one game of chess. If I win you let me help you with this case. If you win I will walk out that door, and I won't stop. I'll go back to my boring life, free of guilt, free of responsibility. Just free because I know I tried." Then I thought of something to add; "Maybe I'll go visit Near."

Mello's sore spot: Near.

* * *

><p>Mello set up the board and all the trolls around us grabbed their seats, getting ready for another epic battle of the minds.<p>

Mello and I played more ferociously this time; we were both less guarded. Before a half hour over half the board had been wiped. Fifteen minutes later we both only had a handful of pieces between us. Mello, as if to reiterate his point from earlier refused to allow his queen to be taken; however, playing as defensively as he was with the piece, made it almost useless anyway because he refused to put it in a vulnerable position. Sexist pig.

Finally I had the board set up perfectly, it'd taken some very careful planning but I'd done it; I'd put his QUEEN in a checkmate situation. No matter what happened, no matter what he tried to do to avoid it, he would take one of my pieces, and I would take his queen. And once I took his queen, the game would be mine.

The next few moves played out flawlessly in my favour, until...

"Checkmate." The most dreaded phrase, the one you never want to hear from your opponent, the one that came from Mello.

WHAT!

"You're too much like me Jewel. You let your emotions get the better of you. You were so frustrated with me, so intent on showing me up by taking my queen, you left your king wide open." I was dumbstruck. It wasn't possible, I wasn't that careless! Even with my emotions on overload I couldn't have overlooked the position my king was in. It wasn't possible!

I studied the board, each and every piece; how could this have happened?

And then I noticed it.

I hadn't overlooked the position of my king; I wasn't careless enough to leave my king vulnerable like that. What I had overlooked was the third white rook on the board. He'd intended to keep me so preoccupied with my king and his queen that I wouldn't notice. But I had.

He'd made one very big mistake. He'd tried to cheat a cheater. Don't ever try to cheat a cheater.

When I'd first been working on the Kira case with L I learned one very important thing. You can't win against someone who's not playing fair. Light Yagami never played fair, he didn't need to; he was the bad guy. Well I didn't need to play fair either. Mello and his ogres had failed to notice that I repeatedly had replaced various pawns with already captured knights. It was a simple feat, a little 'sleight of hand'.

Mello'd been cheating too. And I was going to call him on it. I was going to work on this case, how dare he try to stop me.

"Wasn't aware white pieces included three rooks." I said pointing to the board.

"Heh, 'white pieces,'" some kobold snickered behind me. "You're a pretty little 'white piece' yourself." Racist bastard.

"See Jewel, do you want to put up with THAT, until we catch Kira?" Mello growled, indicating the goblin behind me who had uttered that pun in poor taste.

"I can deal with freaks like him," I said, pointing behind myself without looking. "What I can't deal with is letting Kira escape! Now, you cheated which means I win by default." Of course I'd cheated too, but Mello's the one who got caught. I wondered who would win if we actually played a game where neither of us cheated... Hmm, sure would be interesting to find out. Later though, I had more important things to attend to right now; "I'm staying, here Mello! Or rather, as per my plan, I'm going to Japan."

"Japan?"

* * *

><p>I explained my plan to Mello; how I would go to Japan and shadow Light. I only now realised the irony of that sentence. I would follow him; find out what he was up to. Get more hands-on information on the Notebook.<p>

"That's suicide genius." I hated that he was using 'genius' in a sarcastic tone, we were all geniuses here... well Mello and I were the geniuses here.

"It's what I can do to help this case! Besides Mello, in every game of chess, sacrifices are required." He just stared blankly at me so I continued. "And in any case, I'll go to Japan by myself if I have to. I'll do this alone if it comes down to it; but I'd rather do this with you."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So I hoped you liked it, let me know what you think. Go ahead and review :) And sorry of my French sucks. I've only just started to learn it. I've been learning Russian my whole life, but I think French, as a language is more readable for people and more common.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** Sorry for such a late update guys. Been uber busy lately, and I'm still really busy, but I feel like I owe you an update for sticking with my story for so long :) Last chapter before I join the timeline for the story! :D It'll be a Canon from there on in. I'm so excited! It's going to get really chaotic after this! And much more romantic too ;P I'm sure some of you have been a little disappointed with the lack of Mello x OC action, but don't you worry it's going to get pretty intense ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note or anything remotely associated with it.

* * *

><p><strong>September 13 2012<strong>

_I explained my plan to Mello; how I would go to Japan and shadow Light. I only now realised the irony of that sentence. I would follow him; find out what he was up to. Get more hands-on information on the Notebook._

"_That's suicide genius." I hated that he was using 'genius' in a sarcastic tone, we were all geniuses here... well Mello and I were the geniuses here._

"_It's what I can do to help this case! Besides Mello, in every game of chess, sacrifices are required." He just stared blankly at me so I continued. "And in any case, I'll go to Japan by myself if I have to. I'll do this alone if it comes down to it; but I'd rather do this with you."_

* * *

><p>"You think Light won't notice you?"<p>

"Neither you nor any of your men noticed I was shadowing them." I said snobbishly.

"Yeah, well no offence, but look at these guys," Mello gestured to the clueless mafia members who were still engrossed in the chess board between us.

"You didn't notice me either smart one." Yes Mello was one of the smartest guys I knew, but that didn't give him the right to question my abilities. "Are you trying to tell me that you think Light is smarter than you?" In theory Light may've been. I mean, if Light beat L, and L was smarter than Near and Near was smarter than Mello... well the math spoke for itself. But again, Light wasn't playing fair. "He's not going to notice me following him Mello; and even if he does he won't recognize me."

"What about Raye Pember! Do you remember what happened to him? You should, you're the one with the files on him."

"Raye got sloppy. He trusted Light; showed Light his ID; gave Light his name."

"What about that Naomi character?"

"She made the mistake of trusting Light too, she didn't have all the facts."

"That's not what I mean Jewel." The confusion on my face prompted him to continue, "Naomi got involved only because it was her fiancé that Light killed. What happens if you do something drastic because you let your emotions get in the way?"

"Pfft, I'm sorry but don't flatter yourself. I'm not going to throw my life away avenging your death," I teased... although, I probably would.

"Don't make the mistake of confusing my concern for this case with my concern, or lack thereof, for you." Or maybe I wouldn't avenge his death if he was going to talk to me like that. Once again Mello had left me speechless. Looking at him and recalling his words I was reminded of the mechanics of AC Electricity.

Alternating currents of electricity work by rapidly changing direction. About fifty times per second the current can switch from positive to negative. Mello was hastily approaching that speed for his bipolar-ism himself. Katy Perry's 'Hot and Cold' friend had nothing on Mello. One minute Mello cared about my safety, the next he was all but telling me to go jump off a bridge. Man guys were just about the most infuriating creatures on the planet. I should seriously just get a dog and be done with it.

I couldn't let him get to me though. I knew what I had to do and I was going to do it. AND I was going to do it with Mello; he just needed one more little push.

"Well fine, if you think I'll screw it up," I shrugged. "Maybe Near has someone he trusts enough to do it, if not me," I shrugged again, and fished in my pocket for a stick of bubblegum. Mello pulled out his own chocolate bar and took an intense bite from it.

He didn't say anything. The expression on his face told me he was processing what I was telling him... That he didn't WANT to process what I was telling him, but that he was. "I'm stronger now, I know what to be careful of!" I insisted.

"So will Light! He'll be on the lookout for people watching him!"

"No he won't! He's working with the NPA now, L is dead. Everyone that that suspected him is out of the picture as far as he's concerned."

"You don't think he'll remember you? Light's too careful to not worry about loose ends. And you are one major loose end! You know all about the case, you can't honestly believe that the task force hasn't considered what you're up to."

"And so what if they have? They don't know my face; they don't know where I'm from or where I went. I checked their files myself. They have nothing on me!"

Mello kind of sneered at me. "What about that Shinigami or whatever? What if Light's got one of them following him like that guy from Yotsuba did? What if the Shinigami tips him off? Or kills you!"

"I thought you didn't care about me." My expression was stoic.

"You're going to get us all killed."

"Well if I go work with Near only he and I will be killed and then you'll be number one, and in charge and alive, and Near and I will be out of your way and you'll be free to do whatever you want. The true successor of L." I spat.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence.

"Fine!"

* * *

><p>Because I'd taken the time to get everything in order before I'd gone to see Mello, all that was left was my plane ticket. I was going back to Japan.<p>

"...and keep in contact at all time; and don't forget the emergency backup plan we..."

"Yeah Mello, I know. Shut up now please. Good grief." Mello'd been talking my ear off ever since we arrived at the airport. We were going over last minute details and reviewing our plans. I checked my luggage and made it over to my gate. It was a direct flight from L.A. to Tokyo; from Tokyo I'd find the fastest and easiest way to get to the new NPA headquarters. I'd discovered their location through a series of computer hacks.

Mello and I stood there awkwardly for a moment before an announcer came over the P.A. system and said that it was time to board.

"Got everything you need?"

I don't have you; not yet. "I sure hope so."

Mello handed me my carry-on, which he'd been gentlemanly enough to carry for me. I'd packed my clothes and disguises in my suitcase; in my carry-on I had a two months supply of bubblegum, my teddy bear, a cell phone, electronic bugs and camera's (carefully hidden of course), my IPod and my faded black scarf. It didn't feel right leaving it behind.

"Well, just don't screw this up." I looked around. All the other people who were leaving loved ones behind were exchanging words like, 'I'll miss you' and 'Stay safe.' Words like, 'I love you' and 'Take care.' What did I get? 'Don't screw this up.'

Nice.

* * *

><p>It was weird being back in Japan. I hadn't been here since... since L died. Being back in Japan made it all that much more real. Back in California I could try and forget that any of this ever happened; I could pretend that Kira was just a name and that it had nothing whatsoever to do with me. I couldn't do that in Japan.<p>

It didn't take me long at all to get myself set up; a little apartment, a quick nap and I was ready to begin my mission. I was ready to track down Light!

I waited outside the new headquarters of the Task Force that Light Yagami was running. Man the world was messed up. I cannot possibly explain the number of things wrong with the current situation. Kira was a god, and the people trying to catch him were being lead in circles by the person who WAS him. It made me want to punch something; but then I remembered what happened the last time I gave into my primal urges. I'd spent an hour in the hospital to find out I had a fissure in my knuckle and then I'd spent the next week taking aspirin. Wasn't about to go through that again.

A call came in on my cell as I waited in the shadows.

"What's going on over there?"

"Nice to know you're okay too," I muttered. "Will you chill man, they're still eating donuts and following bogus leads or whatever."

"I just want to know..."

"Look, if I find something I'll let you know okay? I'll call you later." I hung up bitterly and resumed my stalking.

* * *

><p>I'd been following Light Yagami for a couple weeks now. I was so sick of him; he lead just about the most boring life ever... well, the normal half of his life was boring; I'm sure the Kira half of his life was much more exciting.<p>

It was at about this time that began to wonder if Light really was Kira. Oh, don't get me wrong, I knew that he was the mastermind behind everything; but I recalled to when the Death Note had been given to the Yotsuba group and I was curious as to whether or not someone else wasn't using the Notebook at this time. The question was, who?

The answer clicked to me almost instantly.

Misa.

Ms. Misa Amane; Light's girlfriend and the woman L suspected of being the second Kira. She was thicker than pea soup, but if Light was giving her instructions she might be able to pull it off.

I made the decision when I saw Misa on her way to the store. Fully clad in my ebony haired disguise, I approached her.

"Misa-Misa!" I exclaimed excitedly; well, as excitedly as I could fake. "I'm your biggest fan!" I sure hoped she wouldn't recognize my voice; it'd been about four years and I was disguising it. Who was I kidding, this was Misa, I didn't have to worry.

* * *

><p>It'd been endless days of shopping and lunching with Misa, she was more annoying than Light. I didn't know how much longer I could take this. Almost a month in Japan and I'd barely found out anything. They were just too damn careful. All the evidence I had been able to collect was circumstantial. The time of the deaths, the leaks and false leads in the task force computers. Nothing I could use to pin Light directly; just like last time. If only I could find the Death Note.<p>

I made it back to my apartment after a long and annoying day with Misa. I had one missed call on my cell, from Mello; no voicemail. I called him back. "What's up Mello?"

"I'm pulling rank. This is taking too long. I've got another plan, we're going to take the Notebook."

"The Notebook!"

"Yeah, we're going to kidnap the director of the NPA, use him as bait to get the Task Force to hand over the Notebook."

"What! You're nuttier than a fruit cake if you're serious about trying to pull this off! What're you going to do with the Notebook even if you do get it!"

"A lot of things. And maybe once we have the Notebook from the Task Force we can use it to lure out Kira,"

"Lure out Kira? Mello, if you take the Notebook, not only are you going to alert Kira to our presence, but the Task Force too! Everyone's going to be after us if you try and take the Notebook. We're flying under the radar right now, but if you do this it'll be like sending up a freaking flare!"

"Nothing is coming from our just sitting around. It's time to get on the offence here."

"Well..." he was starting to make some sense. "But..."

"You're going to help me. Find the director for me. I'm putting a couple of my guys on a plane to Japan right now."

"What! So soon!"

"Find out where the director is, and then meet the guys at the airport. Take them to the director, let them kidnap him, and then the lot of you are getting on a plane back to Los Angeles."

Bossy much! If I thought he was cold back in April, well this was absolute zero. Back when I'd started working for him the first time he may've been indifferent towards me, but he hadn't been mean. These days he was talking so rudely about me, and downright ordering me around. I suppose it made sense though. He was using me the first time without my knowledge. He may've thought that had he been a total ass to me I would've left and not helped him. Now that he had what he wanted, now that he didn't really need me, it wouldn't matter to him if I got pissed off and left.

Whatever.

It wasn't hard at all to find the director, but it wasn't as though he was in hiding or anything. From the time the goon squad landed in Japan to the time we had director Takamura on a plane back to Los Angeles it wasn't more than five hours. Say what you want about the mafia, but they sure are efficient.

* * *

><p>On the plane home I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. We were seriously playing with fire now. It was one thing to look on from the shadows, to not allow the task force that we even existed; but this was like a flashing neon sign, 'Here, look at us!' Mello was going to get us all killed.<p>

I looked over to the seats next to mine. One large goon was on either side of Takamura, and there was another to my right. I hated isle seats.

It was lucky for us that Takamura had come quietly, all we needed was an international scene; even though we were more or less creating one ourselves. I sure hope Mello's plan was sound; I really hope he'd thought this through.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> So I hoped you liked it, let me know what you think. Go ahead and review :) Yay, Canon action after this! And another good thing is that I'll be updating much more quickly too (assuming my hectic week ends quickly and I don't get a job that I so desperately need). I've already done all my research into the required episodes and I already know where I want it to go from here. I also have the skeleton plot typed out. I really hope you guys like what I'm working on :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** I've made a slight mistake. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I said I was going to be starting the Canon now, and I am, however, I've realised something; the dates I've used, leave FAR too long of a gap between Jewel's entrance into Japan and the kidnapping of the Director of the NPA. It's almost three months that she would've been in Japan, and I didn't want to leave her there that long. Mostly, and if in fact for no other reason, than I have nothing for her to do there for that long. I can't have her following Light for over three months, that's just ridiculous. So what I've done, if you haven't noticed, is I've gone back and edited the dates I've used. I know it's not THAT big of a change, but I just didn't want anybody to call me on it, lol. I hope it doesn't confuse anybody :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material from episode 27. If you haven't seen it yet, well it's your call as to whether you want to read it or not.

* * *

><p>Mello, one of the beefier guys in a white sport coat and I descended the long, narrow, rusted stairs to the basement of the facility. It was the kind of place that would remind you of a dungeon or maybe even the depths of hell... if it weren't so cold I mean. I'd left my hoodie on the couch upstairs and so I was left with rubbing my arms raw to try and keep them warm. Mello had on a huge coat to keep himself warm; it looked cozy.<p>

The whole feel of the place was mildew-y and the echoing around us was astounding, no effort to sound proof here. I don't think I'd ever been to the basement, and it wasn't hard to figure out why I hadn't had the desire to go check it out. The door creaked open when we reached the bottom of the stairs. I didn't remember anybody opening it, and was instantly reminded of all those haunted houses where the door always closed behind the victims. At least this door was opening in front of us instead of slamming behind us. Mello took a large bite of his chocolate and the crack that emanated from it seemed to last years before it could no longer be heard.

We walked into the rather large room which covered the whole area of the basement. I saw two more mafia members surrounding a guy who was bound by ropes to a chair.

"Has he decided to say anything yet?" the guy behind me asked. What was his name? Rod? Ross? Rod Ross?

"He told us the Japanese police have decided to wimp out on Kira. Looks like right now the only ones who are officially working for L are: Soichiro Yagami, Kanzo Mogi and Tota Matsuda. Isnt that right?"

What about Aizawa and Ide? I asked myself. Had they quit? Had they left after L died, as I had? I didn't know who was left on the team for after L died, not only were most of the files wiped, but very few new ones were uploaded and of course fake names would've been used.

"Yeah," a harsh gasp came from the hostage. "There was also Ukita, but he was killed by Kira." Weddy and Aiber had also been killed by Kira right after L died. There was no way THAT was a coincidence.

"Right, and as top cop you somehow had no idea that this Notebook even existed, or that you had it."

"Ha-ha-ha, Japanese cops must be a joke," the two men guarding the prisoner taunted.

Mello walked forward, "Of all the investigators on the task force, deputy director Yagami would be the highest ranking right?"

"Yeah," the hostage croaked again; Mello took another loud bite of his chocolate. I thought Light was running things now? Oh well, he probably just reported to his father for seniority reasons.

"My theory is that there are two Notebooks out there," Mello began, raising his non-chocolate hand dramatically. "One of them is in Kira's possession, and the other is with the NPA." I could've told him that [1]. Mello brought his hand down clenched in a fist, "We're going to take both of them." Wait just a minute! Now he wanted to take BOTH!

An air of uncertainty seemed to spread among the men, and grunts of disapproval hung in the air.

"Don't worry, so long as we do what Mello says there'll be no mistakes. It's been a year and a half since he joined us and in that time he's never been wrong about anything," the white sport coat guy said. One day I'd take the time to remember their names. Assuming I stuck around long enough this time.

"Yeah but that's what's so weird, if he was able to bring us the head of a mafia boss that even Kira himself couldn't kill, why the hell would he even need the Notebook to begin with?" Whoa, Mello did what? Well, he was a super genius... but still only nineteen.

"It's not just the Notebook I'm after," Mello chimed in, "I want to eliminate my competition. I will be the best. I don't care what it takes; I'll beat Near by any means necessary." Of course this wasn't just about Kira. It never would be with Mello.

The new information presented, I'm sure this didn't mean much to the men around us. I'd bet my life savings they didn't even have a clue as to who Near was; he could've been the leader of another Mafia syndicate or just some rival student from school... Was it just me, or would everyone feel that it was a little childish that it was the later of the two?

We left the two mafia goons guarding the director of the NPA and went back to the main room.

* * *

><p>Back upstairs it was taking every ounce of strength I had not to leap across the room and tackle Mello; I bit down hard on my lip. Mello was sitting on the top of the couch with one leg up beside him, eating chocolate. I tried desperately to focus my gaze elsewhere; I was going to get myself into a lot of trouble if Mello insisted on wearing leather all the time. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed him the month I was in Japan until I'd gotten back.<p>

Between Mello and I sat, what was his name, Rod? He had two girls on either side of him, and they were getting pretty friendly. I wished they'd get a room! Then again, I wish Mello and I could have our own room... No! Must. Keep. Focused... Mello was a jerk anyway. He was always so mean to me. I shouldn't like him, I knew that.

"BOSS!" one of the men came bounding up the stairs out of breath; knocking me from my internal fantasy.

"Shut up, can't you see that I'm busy?" the big guy asked, playing with the brunettes hair.

"I'm sorry, but Eddy and I were talking for a minute and, looks like Takamura hung himself with his tie or somehow." Yeah, I'm so sure he hung himself willingly. I'm sure Kira had absolutely nothing to do with this 'suicide.'

Jeeze, Kira was onto us already. Just great. It was exactly as I'd predicted; Kira now knew we were working on him, he now knew we were after him. I heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong with you! Just great! What are we supposed to do with a dead hostage?" Rod hollered (yup, his name was Rod, and if it wasn't well that I was what I was going to call him.) The two girls were becoming a little uneasy.

"No," Mello cut in, "this'll be just fine." Was he nuts! He was as mad as a hatter if he thought this was going to go off well. He seemed to zone out for a moment, as if checking the future based on his new calculations. I half wondered if maybe he really could see how things were going to turn out in the end. Mello's bar of chocolate was frozen just outside his mouth, more like he was debating eating the chocolate instead of what they were all going to do next. In any case, the rest of the men seemed to accept his judgement.

"So what're we going to do Mello?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do! We're going to kidnap Soichiro Yagami's daughter, Sayu Yagami." Okay, maybe he HAD been debating more than the chocolate.

* * *

><p>I felt like screaming at him and asking what the hell he was talking about, I wasn't totally sure I was willing to accept Mello's judgement as quickly as the others had. Was he serious! SAYU YAGAMI! Mello wasn't just playing with fire now, he was playing with fire AND gasoline... and maybe napalm or C4 too. This was going to blow up in our faces.<p>

Mello wasted no time in getting his plan together. I may not have known Sayu when I was back in Japan, but I had known Soichiro Yagami and of course Light, so I actually had a bit of a part to play in the caper this time as well. I suppose I was at least glad I could be of some use to Mello [2]. I was put back on a plane to Japan with Mello's mafia cronies. I was lucky that they were at least behaving themselves. It could've gotten really uncomfortable traveling with them... well, MORE uncomfortable.

When we went to pick up Sayu I insisted that we all wear ski masks to hide our faces. I wasn't taking chances with the Yagami family. I had a feeling Light could manipulate anyone into doing his killings for him. If he ever found out our names, and Sayu knew our faces, well hell, that'd be the end of us.

When we had Sayu on the plane, I used my laptop to connect to Mello's phone call to Soichiro:

"Look, about trading the director for the Notebook, the deal's been cancelled! Takamura is dead." For whatever reason I could only listen in on Mello's side of the conversation, "It's only cancelled though regarding the director, the new deal is this, the Notebook, for Sayu Yagami." I wondered how Mr. Yagami was taking this; I didn't think it was well. "Seeing as how you're the director of the Japanese police it would be stupid to ask you not to call the cops, but you had better handle this on your own. Without backup! If I see the police making any big movements in the next little while, I'll kill your daughter. That's right; just as easily as we killed the director. I'll send you a photo of Takamura's corpse to show you we mean business. Take a good look. I'll contact you tomorrow." I could've accessed the photo Mello sent on my laptop, but looking at a corpse really wasn't on my To-Do List.

* * *

><p>We got back to L.A. a little later the next day. I was exhausted from all the travel and jetlag the past couple days; I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept. At least Sayu hadn't caused any problems for us. She'd come along without a struggle; poor thing must've been too scared to try and get away. I wasn't totally agreeing with kidnapping a girl no older than I was, but it's not like Mello couldn't have done it without me, and maybe having another girl with her might've relaxed Sayu a little. I'd taken the liberty of having some specialty contacts sent down; solid black. Between Mello, the mafia and myself, we had enough contacts around the world to get us whatever we wanted at a moment's notice. It would've been suspicious if we'd boarded the plane with masks, or if Sayu had been wearing a blindfold, but this was perfect. She couldn't see our faces and no one was the wiser.<p>

Sayu, the mafia and I were in the room while Mello made his call to Yagami.

"Your daughter has finally arrived. It's about time." ... "You already have a pretty good idea of where we are, don't you? We'll make the exchange here, come to L.A. in two days, by yourself, and of course, bring the Notebook with you." ... "How about this, I'll send you another photo; that should satisfy you." Mello turned, snapped a picture with his cell and sent it off.

After that it was my designated job to watch over Sayu. I took her to one of the empty rooms in the complex. It had a pair of small loveseats. I took one and sat her down on the other. After watching her for a moment I realised she was still wearing the contacts. I couldn't imagine contacts being too comfortable for someone who'd never worn them so I removed them carefully and replaced them with a blindfold.

We sat in silence for a moment before Sayu spoke up. "Uh, excuse me," she started timidly, "who are you? W-why are you doing this?"

It was a valid question for someone in her position. I figured she at least deserved to know what was going on, this wasn't fair to her. "We're working on the Kira Case," I informed her. "The task force that your father is running right now has something we need to solve it."

"W-what is it?" she tested.

"The means of Kira's killing. We're going to use you to get it. you're our bargaining chip." I tried to not make it sound so terrible to her.

"W-who are you?"

"Do you really think I would tell you that?"

"No, I guess not." she sighed.

I don't know what came over me next; maybe I felt sorry for her, maybe I was just tired of hiding, maybe deep down I'd realised that her knowing wouldn't make a difference. "My name's Jewel," I said quietly.

A small, but sure smile appeared on Sayu's face. We talked easily after that.

* * *

><p>*Mello's POV*<p>

The call was in; everything was going according to plan. I decided to check the audio/visual feeds from the room where Jewel was holding Sayu.

"...He's really not so bad ya know," Jewel said to Sayu. "He's just... misguided I suppose. All he really wants is to catch Kira, before a friend of ours does."

"W-why before? Why can't they work together?" Sayu asked cautiously.

"Oh, who knows? They never really got along. I think he just wants to prove that he's worth something too, ya know. He's always been second best... well, as far as some things go I guess."

A small, knowing smile played on Sayu's lips. "He's not second to you, is he?"

Jewel looked up to meet Sayu's gaze, assuming she hadn't been blindfolded. A soft, kind smile spread over Jewel's face, and the crests of her cheeks gathered a rosy hue. "No," she said quietly, "never has been second, never will be second. Not to me."

"You love him," it wasn't a question.

"I love him."

She... she loved, ME? Maybe I'd been misunderstanding, maybe the whole time they'd been talking about someone else. She'd said it before though as well. When I'd first picked her up to help me with this case. But she couldn't still mean it could she? I'd been doing everything I could to push her away. The last thing she needed if she was going to be working on this case was a distraction. She was going to get herself killed if she didn't stay focused, and if I had to waste time worrying about her instead of focusing on what I needed to, she was going to get us both killed.

I thought about that for a moment and I ended up being absorbed with that concept; the idea that we might both die trying to solve this case. Then there was that annoying little problem, the fact that no one's going to live forever anyway.

No! I wasn't going to allow myself to think like that. I would not allow myself to be destracted. I tuned back into the monitor.

"...you sound so determined to beat Kira."

"I am. Kira has killed someone very, very close to me. And the lives of those I care about are in jeopardy every day. I will not rest until I see justice served."

"You'll keep fighting even though your own life is in danger?"

"I will keep fighting until the lives of those I care about are no longer in danger. And I'm going to win too."

"How can you be so sure?"

"My purpose is greater than Kira's. Kira just wants to play god, I desire to protect my friends. It's a belief I have Sayu..." Jewel continued, "when you have something to fight for, when you have someone you desire to protect, when their life means more to you than your own, you can't lose. There's something inside yourself that just won't let you quit."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yay canon. I hope you guys are liking it! Things are going to get really heated between Mello and Jewel in the next couple chapters ;P I mean it! Anyway, here's just a quick couple footnotes for the story:

[1]: for those of you who are interested, there were actually 4 (REAL) Death Notes in the story!

Ryuk's Death Note: never handled by humans

Sidoh's Death Note: taken by Ryuk, Light's original Death Note

Sidoh - Ryuk - Light - Yotsuba - Japanese Police - Mello - Light - Sidoh

Rem's Death Note: taken by Light after Rem's death

Rem - Light - Misa - Light - Japanese Police - Near

Gelus's Death Note: Misa's original Death Note

Gelus - Misa - Light - Teru - Near

I get a little mixed up with Rem's and Gelus's Death Notes, because Light and Misa switch Death Notes so many times throughout the series, however, this is the general idea. Let me know if I've missed something, or if I made a mistake.

[2]: it may be hypocritical of me to say this, but while I was watching Death Note, I would always give Misa heck for saying things like that to Light. Things like, 'I just want to be helpful to you.' Especially because of what Light was doing; but as I was writing the above, I could kind of understand where Misa was coming from. When you love someone so much you don't care what they do, just so long as you can be there for them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **Okay, first things first. I THINK I'm missing another chunk of my story. Something that I MIGHT'VE written a while ago. See, when I first started writing, I wrote little bits here and there, whatever I felt like working on at the time right. Well good grief if I haven't lost two chapters already. Thing is, when I finally went through and started organising what I'd previously written some things got mislabelled, or put in the wrong folders. Now I saw I 'might've' lost it, because I found another document that I probably would've used at this point, but it isn't labelled like the one I wanted to use, so I don't know if that's it or not. In any case t doesn't really matter, and I tried to connect the two pieces and make them flow smoothly, so yeah.

Secondly, I REALLY hope you guys liked the last chapter. I really only wanted to write a Canon in the first place, but I felt I needed some time to develop my OC, and to give kind of an idea of how Mello and Jewel reacted to each other before I jumped right into the story. So yeah. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not, and will never, own Death Note or anything remotely associated with it... I mean, I have a few collectables, and a wall-hanging, but that's about it ;P Nor do I own 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare.

**Spoiler Alert:** This chapter contains material up until episode 28. I'm pretty sure that if you guys are reading a MELLO love story that you've already seen to the end of the series, but just in case I'm wrong, I feel I should leave a warning.

**POA: **Pay attention to the Point of View changes :P

* * *

><p><strong>October 13 2012<strong>

I left Sayu a little while after our heart to heart. I think having someone to talk to other than the huge, scary mafia relaxed her a bit. I told her I'd be by a little later with some food and drinks. I left her with a radio to pass the time.

When I came into the main room all of the men who were sitting in a circle on the couch turned to face me. I got the impression they'd been talking about me, or at the very least they'd been talking about something they didn't want me to hear.

"W-what's goin' on guys?" I asked with suspicion.

"We're getting ready to put the call into Yagami," Mello sounded very angry for some reason. Had I missed something? "Get Sayu ready, we're going to be moving her soon."

"Moving her?"

"We're making the deal in the desert. We've already got everything set up, but I do need you to do one more thing." He closed the laptop sitting in front of him, unplugged it, and brought it with him as he lead me down a hallway and into a side room, out of hearing range of the living room. When we were in the room and after he closed the door behind him, he shoved the laptop roughly into my chest.

"Hey!" I hissed, that had actually hurt.

"I can't do it with them watching me," he whispered, "There's a program in this computer linked to an explosive device on the helicopter we'll be using. I haven't had time to configure it yet. That's your job." Hold it! An EXPLOSIVE device?

"The hell Mello? What's going on!" I asked in a harsh whisper. "You're not going to kill Sayu are you!" I was horrified.

"No, now shut up. It's none of your business, just do it!"

"'Just do it'? You're asking me to be a part of killing someone!" WHAT was with him lately!

"One of Rod's men has a side deal. Rod wants one of his guys out of the picture. He's a real screw up." I was speechless; he wanted me to kill someone!

"What's gotten into you lately! This is a life we're talking about."

"So?"

"SO!" This wasn't what we stood for. We were Wammy's kids, and this was wrong. I wound up to hit him, I was going to break his jaw; all lives were valuble. Why were we fighting Kira if we were just going to kill people ourselves?

*Mello POV*

I caught her fist easily, "You know, I can predict what you're going to do Jewel! It's always the right hook for you. I can easily block that you know," I affirmed, pushing her fist back at her.

"EXATCLY!" she snarled, glaring daggers at me. 'Exactly'?

"What do you mean, 'exactly'?"

"You have an IQ greater than 145, are you seriously telling me you can't figure out what I meant when I said, 'exactly'!"

"You are so frustrating!" I turned to walk out; I didn't have to deal with this.

"I'm frustrating! You're such a moron!" She hollered, waving her arms wildly in the air. "Stop trying to pretend you don't fucking feel anything Mello!" She jabbed a finger pointedly at me, "There's already one Near in the world; heaven forbid you turn into one too!"

I spun back to her, my own fist raised, she never flinched but I thought better of it anyway and turned again to go.

"MELLO!"

"Ahh, fuck it!"

*Jewel POV*

Without warning he turned violently around towards me for a third time. This time was different though, this time I felt his lips crash into mine. One hand gripped my waist tightly and the other didn't take any time entangling itself in my hair.

I swear I felt my heart explode in that second, and all the cogs and wheels in my mind turned to mush. Every sensory neuron in my body was on overload and the ends of my fingers and toes started tingle.

I felt an overwhelming desire to bite my lip but was moderately shocked when I realised Mello was already taking care of that. Mello fought for entry into my mouth and I allowed him happily; I let him have complete control.

I let out a blissful sigh.

He tasted like chocolate.

*Mello POV*

She was going to hate me...

Whether she truly loved me or not, this was pushing it. This was far beyond what I could get away with. After how I'd been treating her lately, after what I'd just asked her to do; she was definitely going to hate me.

Why did I care though? Wasn't that the point? Hadn't I been trying to push her away, to get her to leave? She didn't belong here and she needed to know that. It'd been a power hungry mistake on my part to call her into this in the first place. I'd put her in danger and now she just wouldn't leave.

I had to admit though, it was the best thing in the world to see her again.

"Mmm, what a buzz." Jewel's words had me pulling away from my internal thoughts.

Her eyes were closed and the expression on her face was so peaceful; like this was what she'd been waiting for the past six months.

*Jewel POV*

My heart was beating so hard and so fast it was actually hurting; but it was the good kind of hurting, it felt nice. It had been far too long since I'd left alive like this. I sighed again, and all the problems in the world just seemed to disappear. There was no Kira, there was no Notebook, there was no Wammy's house; there was just us, Mello and me.

"Mello!" a call came from the hallway, and we both turned towards the door. Mello looked back to me and I met his gaze. He gave me a half-assed 'I'm sorry' expression and then turned to leave.

Oh no, I wasn't going to let this happen again. I wasn't going to suffer through a repeat of last June. Last June when he'd come to my apartment; last June when he'd... what'd even happened back then? To this day I wasn't a hundred percent sure.

I grabbed his arm before he reached the doorknob and stared pleadingly into his eyes when he looked down at me.

"You can't leave again."

"I have to Jewel, I've got things to do." I had to think of something fast! Mello reached for the doorknob again.

"Oh no, now it's MY turn..."

* * *

><p>*Mello POV*<p>

Jewel grabbed both my arms and forced me back against the wall. She stepped sensuously close to me and my body temperature seemed to rise involuntarily. She leaned in, closing the distance between us and rested herself ever so gently against me. Her eyes lifted to meet mine and she gained some height by lifting herself up on her toes. I swallowed nervously as her piercing gaze seemed to be staring right into my soul. There was something else behind her eyes though, something... sad?

Her hands rose slowly and she gingerly wrapped her arms around my neck. How long could she drag this out? The wait was killing me!

She tipped her head slightly to one side like a confused puppy might; but there was no confusion on her face, only determination, and maybe... loneliness?

It was so perfect when her lips met mine.

She tasted like bubblegum.

*Jewel POV*

I put everything I had into that kiss; every emotion, every wish, every dream, every hope. I put all my love into that kiss; all my love and all my sorrow, all my joy and all my pain and every ounce of heartache. I gave him everything I had and still, I knew it wouldn't be enough; it would never be enough. I would never have what it took to allow myself to keep Mello. And THAT, was what was heartbreaking.

But I needed him to know, I needed him to know how I felt before he made a decision, before he shut me out again.

"Mello!" came another shout from the hall. "Let's go, what's takin'?"

We both glanced at the computer that had somehow ended up on the table in the room. Mello looked questioningly at me, as though our whole experience had left him with the inability to think. "I got it Mello. I'll configure the program. He gave me another look, one that said he was sorry, and left the room. I sat down on the couch and got to work.

* * *

><p>When I came back into the main room Mello was in the middle of a phone call and motioned me to be quiet and to bring the laptop over.<p>

"Yagami, right now you're the only one who can hear my voice, listen very carefully. I'm the one who kidnapped your daughter," he peeled the foil wrapping off of a bar of chocolate, "but don't get the wrong idea, I have no interest in your daughter's life one way or the other; or yours for that matter. There's only one thing I want and you know what that is; the Notebook. Now all you have to do is follow my instructions. If you do that, no one has to die. As for the trade, I've prepared things so both of us can walk away satisfied. Play along and there'll be no problems." He closed the lone of communication after that. "Jewel, you and Skyer go get Sayu ready; it's time to move her." I nodded slightly and gave the computer to Mello. I grabbed a van of soda for Sayu off the table before I left with the ape.

After seeing Sayu off, and assuring her that everything was going to be alright I went back into the main room and fell heavily into the large purple couch. What a day; my life was on overdrive and I was threatening to run out of steam. I popped a stick of bubblegum in my mouth and sat with my knees up to my chest while pinching the bridge of my nose for the next couple hours.

Somehow I'd missed something, because when I finally zoned back in Mello was talking to Sayu's father again. He'd put the system on speaker so we could all listen in. "You see the entrance don't you Yagami? Go inside."

Mr. Yagami obeyed and went down into the hole in the ground. I wondered if Kira hadn't crawled out of a hole in the ground himself, or maybe out from under a rock or something to that effect.

"Alright Y462, proceed," Mello ordered.

We watched via closed circuit video feed as the man Mello had inside wrote down a name. Not a minute later one of Mello's own men on the other side of the room dropped dead, grasping his heart.

I shot up off the couch, ready for the rest of us to go down as well. Two other men rushed to the dead man's side but Mello and Rod didn't move. I looked over at them with fear as Rod said, "Well that's what you get when you steal from me and sell goods behind my back. He was a worthless idiot, this was the first time he's been useful... Y462, the target is dead." They'd, they'd just killed their own man!

Suddenly all eyes were on the satellite feed we were getting, a black helicopter appeared as Soichiro and Sayu Yagami made their way out from the underground building.

A voice came in over the computer. "Boss, I'm sure you were watching. I did everything you asked me to just like we planned."

"Yeah I saw that, good job" Rod's voice did not match his expression. I looked nervously back and forth between the screen and the crazy psycho freak with no hair.

"Then this is going to wipe out all those past screw-up's of mine, right?" the voice asked again.

"Oh yeah, wiped out for sure." Rod glanced up at me and my heart stopped cold. "Do it..." he hollered at me. "Do it!" I turned to Mello, eyes begging; begging him not to make me do this.

"You configured it Jewel, you have to," Mello said remorsefully. I gave him a hateful glare and without thinking keyed in the destruct sequence on the computer. The helicopter exploded in front of us and I swear I could feel the aftershock through the computer. I'd just killed a man. I'd been instructed to judge and kill someone whom I didn't even know.

I'd become no better than Kira.

I covered my face and ran out of the room. I ran back to the room I'd used when I'd stayed here in the beginning. I slammed the door behind me.

* * *

><p>A little while later I heard it open and close again, and a voice all too familiar asked me, "Are you alright?"<p>

"Just fine Mello, how do you think I am? I just killed a man." I started down at my hands, the hands I'd used to wipe the man from the face of the earth.

"It wasn't your fault Jewel, it was an order."

"Yet here's a spot."

"What?"

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say." I glanced up from my hands to Mello, he wore an incredulous expression. "What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?"

"Jewel?"

"The thane of Fife had a wife;" I continued, "where is she now? What, will these hands ne'er be clean? No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar ALL with this starting." I shook my head in sorrow. "Here's the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." I looked up at Mello once more, and without breaking eye contact I recited: "Wash your hands, put on your nightclothes; look not so pale. I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he cannot come out from his grave. What's done cannot be undone." And I hung my head once more.

I sighed and was more than moderately surprised when I felt Mello's hand rest on my shoulder and the right side of the bed beside me sink down with his weight.

"I am truly sorry for making you do that Jewel."

"Yeah," I said stoically.

The hand Mello had resting on my shoulder slid down and held my hand; the other Mello placed gently on my chin and turned my face so that I had to look at him.

There was nothing but sincerity in his eyes and so I nodded slowly and closed my eyes. I gasped slightly when I felt Mello lean in for a kiss, but didn't resist.

"Mello, the Notebook's here!" one of the goons called through the door.

Once again we both turned in the direction of the noise. Mello looked apologetically at me once more, grabbed my hand, and pulled me back into the main room. He watched with triumph as Neylon copied the names of the SPK members from the computer into the Notebook. I just watched and tried to keep myself from screaming. I felt so betrayed; this was my brother he was after, it wasn't even about Kira anymore. Kira was just a way for them to prove who was best; a giant chess game. I was disgusted; with them, and myself.

Besides, even if Mello did win now, wouldn't it be just like cheating?

"The next step is for me to figure out just how much I can control people with this thing..." Mello started.

I ran to the washroom to throw up.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I hope my dates and information are correct for the rest of my story. I'm using another source for my information. I trust it, but you never know. If something does turn out to be incorrect feel free to let me know, or just ignore it ha-ha.

Also, some of you may've noticed that I cut some of Lady Macbeth's soliloquy short. I did so for length reasons, as well most of it didn't have much to do with what I wanted to say anyway. It was cut short too because even I have trouble understanding Shakespeare sometimes, and the whole thing was a little much. I also exercised a little bit of poetic license with the lines, just to make them easier to understand.

Have a good one :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **I actually don't have much to say this time, which I'm sure you're relieved about ;P I'm kind of proud of this chapter. I really hope you like it :) And oh, my timeline is going to be a little off on this chapter. Do me a solid and just go with it ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert:** This chapter contains material up until episode 29.

* * *

><p><strong>November 10 2012<strong>

"Mello, I just checked the intercept program I created for our server. Turns out the SPK hacked into our feeds last month; all our files, everything. I think the Japanese Task Force has been trying to get in too, but it doesn't look like they can get around my firewall." Mello's expression shifted to one of anger and I wondered if I shouldn't continue. "That's not all," I checked the screen again to make sure what I was seeing was correct, "Near and the Japanese Task Force have been in contact." I shook my head in dismay, "There's no doubt in my mind that Near knows this was us, and that he sold us out."

"Why do you think he'd sell us out?" I sensed Mello agreed with me, but wanted conformation.

"You mean, besides the fact that the NPA has been trying to get in?" I asked sarcastically. "You remember Linda don't you? From Wammy's? I've stayed in contact with her for emergency purposes. She emailed me the other day, said there were some suits there asking about you and Near."

"What about you?"

"They didn't ask about me at first, but they know I went to the school now. Somehow they knew they Watari established that school. They connected Watari to L and of course L to me. They've connected me with you guys at least through Wammy's. It won't take them long to put it together if they haven't already; you got the information about the Notebook somehow." Mello just stared and took a bite of his chocolate. "Bottom line, we all just got burnt. We have to be beyond careful now." It was probably already too late for us. If the NPA knew about us, the task force knew about us, and if the task force knew about us, so did Light; with Light knowing about us, it was over. It was bad enough we'd shown up on the grid, but we had his Death Note. I doubted he was going to let that go without a fight. "I'm going to upgrade my program to lock them out the next time they try and get in to our system," I said quietly. As if that would help.

For whatever reason I felt tears coming on; it was over and we were all going to pay for going up against Kira. We were going to pay with our lives. I brought my hands up to my face in a feeble attempt to disguise my hopelessness.

"Jewel," I heard right in my ear. Somehow Mello had managed to get freakishly close to me without me noticing. "I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

I looked up earnestly at him, "It's not just me I'm worried about Mello."

I took a step closer to him and leaned into his chest. Sometime since our perfect first kiss Mello and I had wordlessly agreed to be there for each other. No longer was he treating me like a dog, and no longer was I afraid to show my affection for him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

I had been living in greater fear of Kira this past month though. Ever since we'd gotten a hold of the Death Note, it was like we'd been marked. It was as though we had this bright strobe light above our heads, alerting everyone to where we were, and what we were doing.

I'd kept a tighter watch on the movements of the task force as well as the SPK; and also, our own men. It seemed to me as though Jack had been acting just a little off lately, but I couldn't be sure. It was probably just that he was the one who was in charge of the Notebook, he was probably on edge.

Or maybe it was just me; maybe I was looking for something to be wrong. The whole enormity of the situation was just getting to me I suppose. I let Mello hold me for a moment longer before we made it back to the room with the enormous purple couch.

* * *

><p>I was starting to get a crick in my neck; I'd been sitting with Mello on the couch for a good hour now while Mello went over the Death Note with a fine toothed comb. I was also getting pretty sick of seeing Rod fondle the two floozies beside him. I let out a loud yawn and leaned into Mello; I was sweetly surprised when he responded by putting his arm around my shoulder. I snuggled into his side; I could get used to this.<p>

All of the sudden Mello started freaking out. If you could call it a 'freak out' he was always pretty chill unless someone made the mistake of bringing up Near. "The uh... the Notebook just flew." I arched my eyebrow at him, but sure enough, just a moment ago it had been in Mello's hands, it was now on top of Jack's head.

"Ha, it's a notebook that kills people. Hell, nothing surprises me anymore." Rod said from the other side of the couch.

A loud thud and hollering from Jack had us all looking in his direction. "Whoa Boss! Who is this! The guy with the freaky costume! Who the hell is he? Who brought him here?" We all stared at Jack for a moment, and then Mello and I stared at each other. I didn't have an answer for him, I just shrugged. "A shinigami?" Neylon's crazed laughter that followed his exclamation had us all a little worried I think. But a shinigami might make sense. I'd almost completely forgotten about them when one hadn't appeared the first day we'd gotten the Notebook. "He says you can see him if you touch the Notebook." Jack continued. His claim did follow with what I'd observed before. "Please, everyone touch it! I swear I'm not crazy!" Just because the Shinigami might be real, doesn't mean he wasn't crazy, I thought to myself.

"Fine, whatever. Come on guys, touch the Notebook." Rod ordered, and we all leaned in to reach it.

Suddenly Mello had shoved me and I was face down in the couch as a chorus of shouting and a barrage of gunfire erupted right over Mello's and my heads. Not impressed.

"Nice try, but you humans can't kill a Shinigami." It said. The thing reminded me of Rem crossed with a high school nerd. It was definitely a Shinigami, but its voice sounded worse than a pre-pubescent pop-star huffing helium.

"Jack's right, that ain't no costume. That's a real live Shinigami. So now what do we do?"

We all sat around for a minute. We didn't want to get on it's bad side so Mello offered it some of his chocolate.

After a not so formal introduction Mello went after it, asking the Sidoh (or so it called itself,) all about the Notebook; all about how it worked, all about its limitations, and most interestingly, all about the rules.

* * *

><p>"Chocolate is so good." Sidoh decided as he munched on a bar.<p>

"Hey, what about that stuff you told us, is it true? 'If the person using the Note fails to consecutively write names of people to be killed within thirteen days of each other, then the user will die. If you make this Note unusable by tearing it up or burning it, all the humans who have touched the Note till then will die.' Are you saying those two rules are made up?"

"Oh yeah, those rules are definitely fake. My guess is some Shinigami wrote those down as a joke before giving the Notebook to a human."

That was too much to process. That one little fact changed everything; knowing that those two rules were false changed the game entirely. If the thirteen day rule was fake that meant... that meant L died needlessly! I was going to throw up.

I jumped up and made a break for the washroom but Mello caught my wrist.

"Sidoh, go keep watch outside! It will be very convenient for us that you can't be seen by humans. Go outside and keep watch, got it!" Mello ordered Sidoh, and then he followed me out of the room.

"Are you okay?"

"No!" I shouted as I started pacing around my room. "I... I... damnit Mello, do you know what this means!" Mello grabbed my arms to stop me from pacing. "L, L didn't have to die!" I wailed. Mello wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his leather clad chest. "L died trying to prove that the thirteen day rule was false. L backed Light Yagami into a corner and L killed him because of it. If there had been no need for L to prove that rule was false, if it just wasn't there, Light could've been put away. We could've ended this years ago and L would still be alive!" I ranted, my voice muffled by Mello's clothes.

I felt Mello sigh under me. "I'm really sorry babe," he hugged me closer and the tears started flowing.

We waited a moment and then went back to the main room. Now that the Shinigami had given us a bunch of new information, there was a lot more to consider and go over; a lot more to recalculate.

* * *

><p>I checked my watch, I couldn't believe how late it had gotten.<p>

Suddenly there was an eerie silence, everything seemed to freeze in time, no one moved, no one breathed, and then, all at once the men around us began hollering in agony, and grabbing their chests.

"Mello!" I shouted in a panic. He took another bite of his chocolate, seemingly unaffected by the mayhem around us.

The men from the mafia were dropping all around us. They were dying; this was Kira.

By the time the yelling subsided there were only four of us left still standing.

"Jewel! You've got to get out of here now! I'm going to blow the exits! Get moving now while you still have the chance."

Without warning an explosion ripped through the building and then another. Two of the camera feeds on the laptop had been knocked out; the cameras that were on the exits. "Jewel go! You'll still have a better chance with the police outside than you do staying in here!"

"No Mello! I'm not leaving you!"

The thundering in the halls was getting closer and so were the police.

"Fine let's go!" Mello seized my hand and pulled my forcefully along with him as we raced towards the stairs. Just before we started towards the second floor I noticed my hoodie and scarf hanging on the railing. I grabbed them hastily with my free hand. "Roy, Skier, the Notebook's under Rod's body! Bring it to the surveillance room upstairs!" Mello ordered as we took the steps two at a time.

Gunfire and more explosions rang out behind us as we raced through the many corridors of the complex. We made it to the surveillance room and caught our breath.

"Mello I'm so scared!" I whispered into the dark. Mello had yet to release my wrist.

"Get your hoodie and scarf on! Kira had something to do with this, we're going to protect your identity." I realised then that Mello had nothing to hide his face.

"Mello," I whispered again, but footfalls over in the next hallway cut me off. Mello ripped the scarf from my hands and wrapped it around the lower part of my face.

"Put your coat on, hood up." He ordered and I obeyed.

As the footsteps got closer Mello took hold of a black, rectangular shaped box that'd been laying next to the monitors. He pressed one of the buttons on the top and yet another huge explosion rocked the building.

"Don't move!" Mello shouted out into the hall. "I've already blown up the two entrances to this place. This will be your only warning, and then the next explosion will take out the entire building, as well as all your men inside. So you better do as I say." Mello ordered the man leading the raid into the surveillance room and flipped on the monitors for a source of light.

I almost had a non-Kira induced heart attack when I saw who it was. "Yagami again huh? Maybe I should have killed you when I had the chance. History repeats itself, but I never dreamed in a million years I'd be bargaining for the Notebook with you again." I couldn't breathe, this couldn't be happening.

Mello and Mr. Yagami faced off for a moment before he finally took notice of me.

"You, girl; you look familiar." Yagami said, addressing me. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I wasn't even sure if I'd blinked since he'd walked in.

Besides being acutely aware that Yagami had the Death Note AND a pen in his hands, I was a little worried that my long, silver braids (which remained unhidden by my jacket,) would give me away. I mean, he lived in Japan, how many silver haired teenage girls associated with the Kira case did he run into? Yagami broke his stare with me for a moment, and seemed to be examining something over my head. "J! You're Jewel!" Yagami shouted, and I could make out murmuring in the hallway. No doubt more of the task force that I had worked with under L. "J, what are you doing working with this man? Do you know he stole the Notebook of death? Did you know he kidnapped my daughter Sayu?" There seemed to be an undertone of rage in his voice, something that he was trying to keep under control, but it wasn't happening.

"Mr. Yagami, please, listen to me," I begged, not taking my eyes off the Death Note for more than a nanosecond at a time. "You don't understand, it's not like that. We needed to take it, it's for the case! We're just trying to catch Kira! I swear!"

"Why do you need the Death Note to do that?"

C'mon Jewel, think fast. "W-we," my voice was shaking, "we were trying to lure Kira out. And we did didn't we Yagami? Kira helped you kill the rest of the Mafia members, didn't he sir?" Soichiro seemed unsure for a moment; like maybe he believed we were telling the truth. "L-look, c-can't y-you," I was starting to shake I was so scared, "Look, can't you just take the Notebook and leave us be?" I begged.

"I, I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It wouldn't be right. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you in."

NO! If we were made to come face to face with Light that would be the very end of us, there was no doubt. Our fates would be sealed if he ever saw our faces.

"You're not taking us anywhere. You're going to have to leave!" Mello ordered, cutting in beside me.

Soichiro turned back to Mello. "You're real name, it's Mihael Keehl." Mello and I both stiffened and I felt another wave of nausea coming on. I took my glasses off, brought my left and up and rested it against my face. It was over. "It's over Mello, it's time to turn yourself in. If you give up I won't kill you, you have my word on that. You know how this works. I write your name, and you will die. Let go of that trigger and put your hands in the air." I stole a quick glance and sure enough Mello was still holding the little black box.

"Yagami..."

"Don't move! I've written your first name, and it will only take me a second to write your surname." Oh God no!

"Mr. Yagami!" I shrieked, "Please, I'm begging you! Don't do this!"

"He's responsible for the kidnapping of my daughter!" Soichiro hollered accusingly at me.

"I'm truly sorry, for what it's worth, I give you my word, I never wanted to kill you. But tell me Yagami, you've never killed someone before, have you?" Mello cut in again. what was he talking about? He wasn't going to kill Soichiro was he? We could negotiate through this right? We could...

Before I had time for another thought gunfire filled the room. I could only stare at Mr. Yagami in horror. I don't care if you're wearing fifty bulletproof vests, getting hit with a round from a semiautomatic would be enough to fatally wound anybody.

"Jose, the Notebook!" Mello shouted as I lost my equilibrium and fell to my knees.

"Damn, this guy! He won't let go of the thing. Son of a..." the world was becoming hazy, and I could barely keep myself from fully collapsing onto the floor face first.

A fog of people appeared in the doorway but I still couldn't move. It was taking all my focus to keep the contents of my stomach where it was.

"Deputy Director!" There was shouting and hollering and just absolute chaos.

"It's all over Mello! Put your hands up and surrender!" Mello... Mello was in danger.

Out of nowhere there was another explosion and I was being hauled to my feet. I was running and tripping, but at the same time it felt like I was standing still. I was choking and coughing, and fighting for oxygen in the clouds of smoke I was passing through. Finally I was able to collapse on the cold, dewy grass in the empty lot next to the complex... what was left of it; the complex AND the grass.

* * *

><p>I think I blacked out for a moment, because when I came to I heard someone moaning in agony. with laboured breaths I turned over, and to my alarm saw Mello laying beside me; with a good portion of his face burned.<p>

Well I sobered up instantly after that. "Mello, my God, Mello are you alright?" I checked him over quickly while he tried to work up an answer. "C'mon, we've got to get you to a hospital!" I grabbed him under the shoulders and yanked him up.

"No," he groaned.

"What?"

"No! No hospitals."

"Mello, you're crazy, you need to be looked after by professionals."

"Too dangerous."

"It's too dangerous to not have to you go a hospital!" I hollered at him a little too loudly. I glanced around hastily to check for anyone who might be within earshot. I was so scared, Mello's breathing was more forced than mine was.

"No!" he hollered back. Stubborn ass.

"Well come on then idiot, we can't stay here either way." I half carried, half dragged Mello to my car, which thankfully, remained undamaged in a little ally which was far enough away from the damaged building to have escaped the wrath of the explosions.

We sped away from the smouldering pile of debris that was our old base and made it to the highway. Mello had passed out in the passenger seat beside me and I took another look at the damage that was done to him.

There was an exit for a hospital coming up. "You're such an idiot!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I passed it. Whether I was shouting it at Mello or myself was a mystery to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I did say in the beginning that I was going to stick to the Anime, and have nothing to do with the Manga for this story, however, I did need to have an informant from Wammy's. Using Linda just seemed to work too perfectly.

And hey, get this: I just realised I TOTALLY forgot my own OC's birthday. I was going to have a really cool part in one of the past chapters about it. Mello and Jewel were going to get into it, but bam, totally wasn't paying attention, lol.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: **The first part of this chapter I had originally planned to have end the last chapter. I was going to leave you guys with an uber cliff-hanger; it would've been more exciting that way I think. However the last chapter was getting a little long as it was, and this one was a little shorter, so I had to make an executive decision ;P

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert:** This chapter contains material up until episode 30.

* * *

><p>It was three a.m. before we finally made it back to my apartment. It was the most reasonable place to take him; second only to a hospital of course.<p>

"Mello!" I whispered and shook him gently. His breathing was much smoother than it had been before, and I took that as a good sign. "Man you're going to have such a headache," I told the unconscious boy as I hauled him up to my room. I was lucky he was so small.

I stood for a while in my doorway, just staring at Mello, once I'd gotten him lying comfortably in my bed. I tapped my foot impatiently and dug in my pockets for a pack of gum that wasn't there. What was I going to do about this? The base and the mafia were in ruins, Mello was injured, Kira was onto us... What a lovely predicament we'd gotten ourselves into. It was just Mello and me now, we couldn't do this alone. The obvious option to me was to go join Near, but I'm sure Mello would rather sell his soul to Kira before he did that. I leaned into the doorframe and went to pinch the bridge of my nose. I was mildly freaked out when I felt a warm, sticky substance on the side of my face.

I left Mello on the bed and made my way to the bathroom. After flipping on the light on I stared into the mirror. Apparently Mello wasn't the only one who'd been injured in the blast. I delicately ran the tips of my fingers along the right side of my face; being careful not to disturb the tiny shards of glass that had embedded themselves in my flesh; I hadn't even felt them. There was no question about it; we'd be done inside of a week if we didn't get some help.

I went back down to my car and took my purse from the backseat, thankful that I'd forgotten it in the back and hadn't taken it into the base that day. I fished my cell phone out of the side pocket and Virginia out of the main compartment. I held her close as I dialled 999 on the speed-dial. I placed the phone next to my left ear while it rang, as my right ear was still bloody.

"Hello?" came an old voice on the other end.

"I need a number." I said flatly.

"Who is this?" the voice asked with concern; I didn't respond. There was a long silence between us before the voice sighed and asked, "Which number?"

"Number three."

"Number three?" the voice asked in disbelief. Another long pause before, "Let me see if I can find it." I waited silently for a moment before the voice came back and read it out to me.

"Thank you." I made a move to hang up the phone.

"Jewel," I waited, "just be careful alright." I let my silence be my reply as I ended the call.

I waited a moment and then dialled the number I was given.

"Hello?" this voice was not as old but just as familiar; and it sounded just as tired as I was.

The person on the other end yawned as I replied. "I need your help."

The voice was more awake now, I'd gotten his attention. "Who is this?" Again I remained silent. There was a shorter pause than last time as the voice on the other line figured out the answer to his question. "Where are ya hun?"

"Is the line secure?"

"It is on this end." I gave the guy my address. "I'll be there in a couple hours."

"Thanks Matt."

* * *

><p>I waited stiff as a board and scared out of my mind, on my love seat for the next two and a quarter hours. A watched pot MAY never boil, but a watched clock DEFINITELY doesn't move. It felt like I'd been staring at the clock for days before I finally heard my door creak open.<p>

"Matt!" I sighed as I raced to greet him. Matt dropped his bag to the floor and enveloped me in a tight hug as I barrelled into him. "Oh Matt! Thank God!" I sighed into his chest. I couldn't hold back the tears any more after that. "I... I don't know what to do anymore," I wailed, "it's like I can't think at all."

"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay Jewel, I promise." He took my chin in his hand and forced me to look up at him. He had that ridiculous grin on his face, the one that always got him out of trouble at Wammy's and the one that never failed to brighten any room. "Now, where's our blonde-headed nut bar?" he asked when my sobs had turned into little more than sniffles. I pointed to the bedroom where Mello was still sleeping soundly.

We looked in on him for a minute and then Matt looked back at me, "C'mon kid, we've got to get you cleaned up."

We walked together to the washroom. He took the tweezers and the first-aid kit from the medicine cabinet, I turned on the vanity lights, and we both sat down on the edge of the tub. We sat in silence as Matt plucked and pulled, and dabbed my face with peroxide.

"They're not too deep at least," he said after a while. When I didn't say anything back he continued, "You know, I'm really glad you called me. I missed you guys." I finally turned towards him and found him wearing an angelic grin.

I couldn't help but smile, he just always brought out the best in people. "I missed you too Matt; so much."

After Matt patched up my face as best as he could, we both decided it was time for some much needed sleep. Matt insisted on the recliner, so I took the loveseat and I swear I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

* * *

><p><em>There was a quiet knock on my door. "Jewel," Matt called from the other side of the wooden barrier.<em>

"_Go away Matt," I whispered, just loud enough so that he would be able to hear me._

"_I brought you some lunch kid," I didn't respond. "You have to eat something Jewel, this isn't healthy. You need to keep yourself together if you want your leg to heal. You want to get better don't you?"_

"_No," I sighed honestly._

"_C'mon Jewel, don't do this to yourself."_

"_I'm fine Matt, just leave me alone." _

_My door creaked open. "Can't do that luv, it's my assigned duty to make sure you eat your vegetables!" Matt strode in with a tray carrying a bowl of soup and a plate of salad. "It's homemade veggie soup; your favourite." Matt smiled goofily._

"_I'm not hungry Matt," I said exasperated._

_Matt's shoulders slumped and his Cheshire grin evaporated. "Look, no one blames you for how you're feeling, but everyone's worried about you; especially me!" I still didn't answer him. "Look, they were all my friends too okay, but you've got to pick yourself up, this isn't healthy!" He placed the tray of food on my desk and sat down on the end of my bed next to my broken foot._

"_Was it healthy to start smoking after Mello left?" I asked him cruelly._

"_I use smoking as an outlet for my emotions, and quite frankly, I think you need an outlet too. Maybe not smoking, but hun, you haven't smiled, you haven't cried, you haven't done anything but sit in your room since it happened."_

"_I have a broken foot Matt, what do you want from me? You want me to get up and run a marathon?"_

"_I want you to eat something smart ass."_

"_And I want you to get out of my room!" I said coldly. Matt nodded and got up to leave. He left the tray of food and closed the door behind him._

* * *

><p>I woke up with a splitting headache and the right side of my face felt like it was on fire. At least the smoke alarm wasn't going off like last time. I sweat there was something wrong with my eyes too, because even though I'd fallen asleep with my glasses on, and I could still feel them on my face, my eyes couldn't seem to focus. It was like I was trying to look at the world through a glass of water... and that's when I realised it WAS a glass of water.<p>

"Here," Matt said as he shook the glass of water he had hovering in front of my face.

"Thanks Matt," I expressed gratefully. Just like at Wammy's; Matt was there to take care of me. I'd treated him so badly back then, I recalled as I took the water. He was so diligent; everyday he would come to bring me food, sit with me, and try to cheer me up. He was really something else.

I sat up on the couch as Matt went back into the kitchen.

"What did I miss?" I called after him.

"Not much," he seemed to consider it for a moment. "There was a sweet old lady from downstairs dropped by. She was a little worried about the commotion you were making last night. I told her that there wasn't a problem," he winked. Oh dear.

I checked the clock on the wall and was more than shocked when it only read 8:36. Matt and I had both only slept for a couple hours. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Ha, do you ever remember me sleeping Jewel?" He had a point.

"Nope you were up to all hours of the night playing video games," I stuck my tongue out at him and he just smirked. I put my hand behind me to hoist myself up off the couch but it rested on a soft, fluffy object; Virginia. After staring at it for a moment, something clicked inside my head. "Hey Matt, you want to stay here for a bit? Watch Mello, I've got to do something!"

"Uh yeah, sure," he seemed a bit concerned.

"I'll be back in a while." I made it to the door with my keys, but turned back to Matt before left. "Thanks again Matt, I owe you one." He just smiled. "And oh, there's a PS3 in the entertainment system," it was my turn to wink.

* * *

><p>I made it back to Los Angeles in record time. I was on the lookout for law enforcement as I drove past the burned out base. There didn't seem to be anybody around which was lucky for me. Obviously last night the police and fire department had come by, for there was caution tape surrounding the whole area, and everything was still soaked.<p>

I parked a little ways away for safety and snuck over to the building. I heaved a sigh and looked around. If memory served me (which it usually did,) Mello's room would've been over here... I paced out fifty feet through the crumbling concrete. I was left standing in the middle of nothing distinguishable. There were chunks of concrete and rebar, iron girders and bent I-beams; what a mess. When Mello set his mind to blow something up, damn did he blow it up.

I sighed again and started digging, tossing aside seventy-five pound hunks of debris. Forty minutes later I'd cleared myself a nice little patch and was head to toe dripping in sweat. Thirty minutes after that I'd actually found what I was looking for. I couldn't believe they had survived the blast. After heaving another dozen blocks aside I was looking down at five badly, mangled boxes. I opened them one by one and discovered clothes, completely unsalvageable electronics, and one worn out rabbit.

I left the bits of mangled wire and software but took the clothes and bunny back to my apartment.

* * *

><p>"You look worse than you did last night," Matt said as I dropped the boxes in the doorway.<p>

"Gee, thanks," I replied wryly, noticing that both Matt AND Mello were now sitting in my living room.

"Where were you?" Mello asked; the blast had obviously done nothing for his temper. I just narrowed my eyes at him and sulked to the washroom. I felt so gross, I needed a shower.

*Mello's POV*

Matt actually put his game down, and walked over to the boxes Jewel had dropped when she'd come in.

"What are those?" I asked.

Matt bent over and dug through the boxes for a second before he said, "Looks like your junk man."

"What?" I leaned forward on Jewels mini sofa. "My junk?"

Matt stood back up, a tattered rabbit in his hands."

*Jewel POV*

I stared blankly at my wall as water dripped from my wet hair onto my bare shoulders. I hadn't had enough energy, or even the desire to get myself another towel from the closet. The only one I had at the moment was preserving my modesty.

I yawned loudly. I was sure going to pay for my little 'mining trip' tomorrow. I hadn't had a serious workout like that since before Japan, and now I was pretty sure I'd strained every muscle in my body. I yawned again.

Suddenly there was a knock on my door and Mello strode in.

"EH!" I threw my arms across my chest, which was thankfully covered by my towel. "I could've been naked jackass."

"I knocked."

"You're supposed to wait until I answer before you come in." He just shrugged.

"You know, that was pretty dumb, there could've been cops, you could've been hurt..."

"I checked the place out before I went in there," I said, knowing right away that he was referring to my little excursion in Los Angeles. "Besides, don't tell me you're not grateful," I teased.

"That's not the point," I said, coming over and sitting on my bed. Sitting REALLY close to me on my bed. I was hyper aware that the only fabrics between the two of us, were my flimsy towel and his tight leather. His REALLY tight leather.

Mello leaned forwards and crossed his hands over his knees. "The two of us almost got blown up last night; you got hurt. I don't want..."

"Hold everything!" I interjected, "we've been through this about a billion times already!" I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him gently so that he was facing me. "Mello, you need to shut up about this 'you're going to get hurt business'." I leaned into him as close as I dared. "I'm here for you Mello, you're not going to have to do this alone. No one should have to go up against Kira alone.

Now get out I have to change."

"'Get out'? What are you, four?"

"If we were four I wouldn't have to worry about changing in front of you! ...No, even then. Now turn around!" He didn't budge and we stood in a faceoff for a good five minutes before I said, "Fine, if you're THAT desperate for free porn." I don't think Mello appreciated my insinuation.

"HEY!" Matt called from the living room. "Get out here! You two are going to want to see this!" Mello and I glanced worriedly at each other for a nanosecond before charging into the other room; me still in my towel.

It was an address to the nation from the president.

"Good afternoon, I am going to try and keep this brief." The three of us glanced quickly at each other; there was no way this was going to be good news. "The United States, will no longer oppose Kira." Reporters jumped at this announcement, all of them rapid firing questions at the president. My jaw dropped and Mello and stiffened beside me. "...Justice? No, I never said, that. But because of Kira war and conflict have ceased to exist," Yes, because what happened the other night definitely wasn't a conflict. There was still war alright; it was us versus them, the good guys versus Kira. "...Criminal organizations are in a state of ruin," Well at least THAT was true, "...anyone who defies Kira head-on will be killed, that is a fact," Yes Mr. President, it certainly was. "We are not acknowledging Kira as a symbol of justice; we are simply saying that as a country, we will not take any actions against him." The reporters went crazy again, but the president walked off his glorified soap box.

"Great," I started, "we're in the middle of World War Three and AMERICA has already folded? Not a good sign."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Alright, one more chapter down, who knows how many more to go ;) Let me know what you think of my story; how I can improve it, what you like or don't like about it.

Also, this afternoon when I was in town, nowhere near my computer or recording devise, I came up with a really cool idea to add to this chapter; I forgot it by the time I made it back home. I'm not impressed because as much as I remember, I remember that I really liked my idea and nothing else.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: **Oh goodness! I'm so sorry for not having uploaded for so long. I've been uber busy lately. I'm still looking for a job, and the other day my brother came into town so I spent some time with him. Wish me luck on the job hunt.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 30.

* * *

><p><em>It was an address to the nation from the president. <em>

"_Good afternoon, I am going to try and keep this brief." The three of us glanced quickly at each other; there was no way this was going to be good news. "The United States, will no longer oppose Kira." Reporters jumped at this announcement, all of them rapid firing questions at the president. My jaw dropped and Mello and stiffened beside me. "...Justice? No, I never said, that. But because of Kira war and conflict have ceased to exist," Yes, because what happened the other night definitely wasn't a conflict. There was still war alright; it was us versus them, the good guys versus Kira. "...Criminal organizations are in a state of ruin," Well at least THAT was true, "...anyone who defies Kira head-on will be killed, that is a fact," Yes Mr. President, it certainly was. "We are not acknowledging Kira as a symbol of justice; we are simply saying that as a country, we will not take any actions against him." The reporters went crazy again, but the president walked off his glorified soap box._

"_Great," I started, "we're in the middle of World War Three and AMERICA has already folded? Not a good sign."_

Matt sighed and reached into his pocket for something; a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"MATTHEW..." I was at a loss for his last name which I would have liked to use to emphasise my annoyance. "What are you doing!" I hollered at him. "You're not still smoking are you!" Well the answer to THAT was obvious. "You said you were going to quit!"

"I tried," he said and shrugged, pulling out a cancer stick. "Too much work," he mumbled as he stuck it in his mouth and went to light up.

I snatched it out of his fingers, "Hello! Kira's already trying to kill us, are you trying to help him? We're the ones trying to stay alive remember? This Death Stick will kill you just as easily as the Death Note can. Smarten up; you're the number three guy at Wammy's, you know better," I paused for effect. "Besides, you're not allowed to smoke inside this building anyway."

"Oye," Matt pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes in frustration and I bit my lip. Mello had pulled out a bar of chocolate in the mean time. I think all the pressure was finally getting to us. I mean, if the United States gave in to Kira, what was next? Good grief.

I needed bubblegum, I patted my sides looking for bubblegum that I always keep in my pockets, only to realise I currently didn't have pockets. I was still in my towel. It was time to change.

Once I was in my room again I placed my thumb under my lip and started thinking. Where were we going to go from here? My door opened again behind me. "Oh for Heaven's sake Mello," I turned on my heels and came face to face with Matt.

"Heh, probably should've knocked, but whatever," he chuckled.

"Oh my gosh Matt. What is it you want?" I gripped the top of my towel to make sure it was still tightly wrapped around me.

"Mello wants to know where you put the chess board he saw last time. We're going to have a game."

"That couldn't wait 'til I was dressed?" I asked incredulous.

"Hey, he was about to barge back in here himself if I hadn't come in."

"Well it's right where it was last time he was here. I haven't used or moved it since."

"He says it's not."

"It's on the end table," I said exasperated.

"That's where he looked." I arched my eyebrow at him.

What? Where was my chess board?

I got dressed in a hurry after that; but after thirty minutes of a fruitless effort of searching my apartment from top to bottom we gave up and Matt went back to my video games and Mello and I went back to planning. I was having a terrible time concentrating though; my missing glass chess set, keeping my thoughts occupied in the back of my mind.

* * *

><p>We spent the next week or so doing the exact same thing. Matt played video games and practical jokes, Mello paced and pondered, I programmed and primped... hey, with two guys in the apartment I had to look my best. Besides, I already had an idea. It didn't matter though; Mello would never go along with it. At least that's what I thought until Mello said, "Well first we have to tie up some lose ends. I'm going to see Near."<p>

Matt and I shared stunned looks. "Uh, Mel?" I asked timidly, "Freudian slip? Or did you actually just say what I thought you said?"

He turned to face me, "He's got something of mine."

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Mello had been doing some programming of his own. Along with Matt, he'd done some research on the side. As it turns out there was one major hang-up in any plan we could come up with. Not only was Mello's name was now known... but his photograph was floating around somewhere. But not just 'somewhere,' rumour at Wammy's was that Near had it. And that is how we ended up half was across the country. While on the plane we had Matt do a little investigating into my old files for us to discover the address of one of the SPK agents working under Near. Because the location of the SPK was strictly confidential, we were going to use her to get inside.<p>

Mello had insisted he could do this alone, but I pressed to go with him. I don't know why, maybe I was developing attachment issues. It'd be really bad if that were the case; I painfully recalled the last time I had been attached to someone; the same someone who had been killed by the Note Book. And then again when I'd become attached to the same person I was now. What would happen if Mello left me again? Maybe that's why I was going; maybe I just wanted to make sure that he couldn't run out on me again.

We broke into her apartment; what was her name, Halle? She was one of the members of the SPK that Mello had been in contact with during my absence from his team. She was so obviously in the shower. I half wondered if Mello didn't come here at this time because of that. But he couldn't have known... right? What was it with him, and walking in on chicks in towels?

Mello looked in deep in thought for a moment as he wandered around her apartment. An idea seemed to hit him, because he walked over to the TV in the living room and turned it on. He then motioned for us to wait on either side of the door leading into the living room from the hallway. Halle would have to pass us to go check out the TV.

Mello tossed me a gun and we waited breathlessly for a moment before we heard the water turn off, and the bathroom door open. Footsteps creaked and stopped, and then creaked again. I pressed myself up against the wall and she came through the door. Mello instantly raised his gun; it was level with her head.

"So you're alive," She said flatly as Mello took a bite of his chocolate. I raised my gun and cocked it. It didn't look like she knew I was there. She turned towards me and gave me a quizzical look, but she wasn't surprised; I just sneered. If she could play the 'Too Cool' attitude, so could I.

* * *

><p>The SPK's headquarters weren't too far away from Halle's apartment surprisingly. We made it there in no time. All the while Mello had his gun trained on Halle. He kept it in his coat in public, but when we reached the building that housed the SPK, he pulled it out again. We walked emphatically through the hallways and corridors like we were fighting back some invisible force. I made a mental note of the surveillance cameras placed strategically here and there. I had a flashback to Mello's old base; the big difference of course was the level of class each place had. Whereas Mello's base was all but in ruins, this base was a high-tech, new office building. Near certainly was eccentric.<p>

Ahead of us there was a steel plated door with a dozen different locks on it. it slid open with bleeps and flashing lights as we approached.

We walked forward, gun still trained on the back of Halle's head. Two members of the SPK had their guns trained on Mello.

"Mello, welcome... Jewel." Neither of us answered him. I don't imagine Mello felt he needed to reply, or wanted too with two guns aimed at him. Me, I just didn't know what to say. I hadn't seen Near in what, four years? And now I was suddenly at his door step; with Mello and a gun? Yeah, what do you say to that? I settled for biting my lip.

"Drop your weapon!" The two men with guns ordered, as they cocked their own guns. I pulled the one Mello had given me out of my coat pocket, aiming them at the two men who were aiming at Mello as a counter.

My older brother Near sat on the floor, in the center of a circular train track, blocks, action figures and other such child's toys. He was older than me in so many ways, but he'd never really grown up.

"Everyone, please put away your guns. Having a shootout here would achieve nothing." Sure, he was mature enough to say that, but he was still playing with trains and Heaven knows what else? Although, putting our weapons away was the logical thing to do, maybe it didn't take maturity at all.

"Sir, with all due respect, Mello is the one who killed our partners." Not, exactly. The Death Note killed their partners; and Mello wasn't the one who'd written in it anyway.

"Please don't make me say it again," Near voiced. I don't know how they were taking him seriously. He was an eighteen year old albino who was crouched in the middle of a train set, playing with toys. "Remember that our primary objective is still to catch Kira. Killing Mello right now will do nothing to benefit our investigation," that's right Near, just ignore me. Mello's the smart one, I have nothing to contribute to this investigation. And by the way, is that the only reason you'd keep Mello alive anyway? just because it wouldn't 'benefit the investigation'? How about because he's a person, and... was it terrible that I could think of no other redeeming qualities for Mello at the moment?

"Alright," the one said, and they both lowered their guns, I lowered mine in turn, and Mello lowered his.

"It seems like things have been going just as you planned Near." Mello finally spoke up.

"Yes, I take it you've already heard all about the second L from Lidner by now," No, he heard it from me when I joined him months ago! "I've pretty much figured out who Kira is, and it's mostly thanks to everything you've done."

That was the wrong thing to say Near. His words pushed Mello just a little too far, and had him raising his gun again; this time it was aimed at my brother's head instead of Halle's. NOW what do I do!

"Shut up Near!" Mello cried, and Near's two body guard types had their weapons aimed at Mello again. I raised mine and we were back in our original standoff position. "I'm not just a tool for you to use in order to solve your puzzles you know!"

"Mello, if you really want to shoot me than go ahead and do it," AHH! WHAT WAS WITH THESE TWO! They were both geniuses bit neither of them had an ounce of actual intelligence between them... at least when it came to each other. Good grief. My brother was volunteering his life, and my... and Mello, was ready to take it from him. They should just both be shot for their stupidity and arrogance.

I heard the trigger being pulled back in Mello's hand. He wasn't SERIOUSLY going to kill my brother was he!

"Stop!" Halle and I ordered at the same time. I gave her an annoyed look as she jumped in front of Mello, and grabbed the end of the gun. Way to steal my thunder Halle, thanks a lot. "If you shoot him than the rest of us will have no choice but to shoot you too!" I'm here too, just saying, I have a gun too, just saying. "What will it solve if both of you die!" Finally a voice of reason! I may hate her guts, and I may hate them solely on the premise that Mello might like her, but you can't deny logic like that. "That's just what Kira wants." Okay, please stop talking now.

"You have a good point," Uh, I had that point too! Ages ago; just because I didn't say anything... Hmm, maybe I should just shoot her. How could he speak so civilly to her! If I had tried that I would've been yelled at! It would've been, 'Oh, so you're favouring Near! Oh, you're picking your brother over me! Oh, you think Near's better than I am too!' Good grief.

Mello lowered his gun and continued, "Anyway, I'm only here for one thing. I came to take back that photograph you have." How What was Near doing with that photo of Mello anyway? I mean, no one could deny that Mello's hatred toward Near was completely one-sided, but to keep a picture of him?

"Of course. I got it from the orphanage," Near held up the photo just like L used to hold things, barely touching it. "There was only one, and no copies have been made." I straightened my glasses and took a close look at the photo, as close as I could on account of Near was still holding it and that I was half blind even with my glasses. I was able to realise just how long ago it'd been taken. Mello must've been no older than fourteen; ages ago for us. "I've already gone ahead and dealt with everyone who knows your face, both inside and outside of Wammy's House, they'll keep quiet," Near flawlessly flicked the photo to Mello, not something that was easy to do with a piece of paper. Mello caught it without effort. "I can't say a hundred percent for certain, but it shouldn't be possible for you to be killed by the Notebook," Mello turned the photo around in his hands, examining it. "Is that the only business you had with me Mello?"

"Near," Mello scoffed, "let's get one thing straight, I have NO intention of working together with you on this."

"Yes, I know." All the rest of us just seemed to disappear; they carried on with their conversation like they were the only ones in the room.

"At the same time, I can't just take my photo and leave, that wouldn't be right? So I'll settle my debt... The killer notebook belongs to a Shinigami; whoever touches it is able to see a god of death."

"That's crazy!"

"Who the hell would believe in something like that!" the others finally cut in.

"I would," Near answered, "I believe him completely." The members of the SPK turned to Near in disbelief. "What good would it do him to tell an outrageous lie like that? Even if he had something to gain, he could at least come up with a more believable story. Therefore, these gods of death must exist."

"The Notebook I obtained had previously belonged to another Shinigami, perhaps even Kira himself. Also, some of the rules written inside are actually fake. That's all I can tell you for now," Why was Mello being so generous with his information in the first place! He wanted so badly to beat Near, in fact all he wanted was to beat Near, and yet he was helping him with the case? After how hard he'd worked to get even a step ahead? It couldn't just be because of the photograph could it?

Mello turned and started walking away; I followed him, taking one last look at my brother sitting on the floor. It took me until now to realise how much I actually missed him. We may've never gotten along, but he was still my brother. We still shared that blood, that bond.

Mello stopped so suddenly I almost ran into him, "Near."

"Mello,"

Mello pulled out a chocolate bar form his pocket, and I looked over my shoulder to see Near playing with a strand of his hair, "Which of us is going to reach Kira first I wonder?" I didn't have to see Mello's face to know he was smirking, you could hear is so plainly in his tone. Was he still so genuinely confident?

"The race is on," Near stated from behind me. What was with these two! One minute they were ready to kill each other, and the next it was like they were two old friends who were playing a simple game of chess.

"We're both headed towards the same destination; I'll be waiting for you."

"Right," and with that Mello and I continued out.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Okay, writing these past two chapters has be REALLY wanting to write a Matt FanFic after this, however I know I won't. I mean, Matt's the best obviously, he's so cool, but I just can't see him as being anything more than my OC's best friend kind if deal.

Also, the other day I was reading a FanFic and the author of that one had a great idea: A Question & Answer option. Go ahead and ask me any question; about my story, about my characters, my love of anime, anything :D

Oh and, I may have made my OC sound a little prejudiced against people who smoke. That's actually not the case. I don't mind people who smoke, and my OC was just worried about Matt's health :) Speaking of Matt, don't worry, I'll get his character right soon. I can tell myself he seems a little off at the moment.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: **^_^ It makes me so happy to see that so many people are reading my story. That's so awesome. I hope you all are enjoying it. I sure would love to hear what you think about it :) It's my first FanFic so any feedback I could get would be really helpful.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 31.

* * *

><p>Mello and I boarded a plane to head back to Los Angeles; we'd make a connection there and then head back to my place in Santa Barbra. Somehow it had magically become our new head quarters without my permission.<p>

On the plane I decided to make a bold move. If things kept going the way they had been, none of us was going to live much longer. I decided I was going to make the most of my life while I still had the chance. In my seat I slowly started to lean to the side; I got closer and closer to Mello until finally I closed the distance and my head was rested on his shoulder. To my most extreme surprise, Mello didn't even freeze up at my touch. He was allowing the contact, and in my astonished state I half wondered if Mello wasn't thinking the same thing I was; if he wasn't trying to come to terms with the end himself.

I was even more shocked – assuming that was even possible – a moment later when Mello threaded his arm around my shoulder, allowing me even more room to snuggle into his chest. I took that opportunity and was all but sitting on top of him when we finished our shuffling. With my head resting comfortably against his chest I was able to take in his scent; he smelled of chocolate. The aroma left me with a flashback to our first kiss, and I wished ever so desperately that I could be content with my current position and my wonderful memory.

But that just wasn't the case. I wasn't able to focus on the close proximity of Mello, or his scent or the memory of our kiss. My thoughts continuously drifted back to Kira, the case, and all the lives at stake. All the lives of the people I loved that were at stake. Matt, Mello and Neat were all I had left in the world. I had never been really close to anyone else at Wammy's; and L and Watari were already gone.

I also found my thoughts returning to how Wammy's was back in the day. Thing's that shouldn't have even mattered in the current situation we were in. Things like my first day, my almost adoption, the day I lost my eyesight.

"I... heh, I still remember the first day I came to Wammy's House," I started quietly. "Watari had come to pick Near and me up at our house after our parents died; he drove us to the orphanage. I remember it was raining that day, because I was watching the rain through the car window, and I could barely make out the sign on the front of Wammy's House.

The orphanage looked more like a mansion to me at the time. It was so beautiful inside. Watari lead us in, and I remember Roger met us at the front door with L. They were all talking about something, but I was too nervous to pay attention. My parents had just died, and it was a new home in a new city; new people and a new school. Near didn't seem like he had a problem with it. I always hated how he never seemed to care about anything. I mean, neither of us cried, not ever; not even when out parents died, but that didn't mean I didn't have feelings, it just means I didn't cry. Near always seemed like he didn't have feelings for anything though. Not only didn't he cry ever, but I don't think I ever saw many expressions on his face period.

I remember I just wanted to hide, to disappear, but at the same time I was still so curious about what was going on. And then, and then I saw you Mello," I paused and waited for a reaction, but got none so I continued. "You and Matt, you were both standing at the top of the stairs. And then I caught your eyes, and I don't know, there was just something about you in that moment," I hung my head, but kept talking. "I remember I started to blush, and was so embarrassed," I was starting to blush now too, and I brought my hand up to my face to try and hide it. "But then, then you just left, and I didn't understand." Recalling this memory was so turbulent for me; happy and sad at the same time. "L came over then and...

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now..." the captain's voice came over the speaker system. We were getting ready to land in Los Angeles. It seemed like the plane ride had ended in no time.

* * *

><p>We landed and grabbed our luggage. As we were making our way through the airport we passed a crowd of people standing around staring at a TV screen. At first I mistook it for a read-out on the flights that were going in and out, but it wasn't long before I discovered what it really was.<p>

Sakura TV was doing a live broadcast, a live broadcast from a chopper, a chopper that was hovering right outside the building Mello and I had just left.

"Oh my gosh! Mello Look!" I jammed my finger at the television screen. "Oh no, Near!" I breathed.

"...have finally pinpointed the hideout of the evil organization bent on trying to catch our beloved god Kira! We now have the building completely surrounded," Demegawa was yelling over the chopper noise into a microphone.

"What's going on?" Mello asked, coming up behind me carrying his suitcase; taking a bite of his chocolate and watching the TV beside me. I just pointed again.

"Fellow Kira supporters, I urge you, do not rush the building all at once! The traitors may attempt to blend in with the crowd to escape. I am Kira's loyal servant and spokesman! You must listen to me!" came the voice from the TV.

"Mello! What're we going to do!" I begged. He just continued to watch emotionlessly, eating his chocolate bite by bite. Mello was absolutely infuriating me! I Knew he hated Near, but seriously, how could he act so callous?

"There isn't anything we can do. It's not like you can go down there and make a difference. You'd be mauled by the crowd... assuming you could even get there in time."

"Mello! We have to do something!"

"Why! Why on earth should I do anything to help Near?"

"Damnit Mello! I know you hate him, and I know Near's crazy. I know he's never been much of a brother to me, but he IS still my brother!" I love him! I care about him! He's my family! Near is one of the three remaining people in the world who mean something to me!

All this time I'd been so worried about Mello, Matt and I. All this time I'd just figured Near was untouchable. Apparently I was wrong.

"Look Jewel, I know you're worried, but be realistic about this. There isn't anything you can do! Near's smart, he'll figure something out." As much as Mello may've been trying to make me feel better, he couldn't hide the bitterness that came out with the last part of what he said.

I looked down in defeat, and was truly surprised when I felt Mello's arm around my shoulder.

"...They'll be a sacrifice to Kira." I shuddered violently when I heard this. Smashing glass and yelling flooded the speakers, and it took everything I had to keep from whimpering.

I brought my hands up to my face to I could cry into them. Mello pulled me into a warm embrace, "It's going to be okay Jewel. Near is going to get out of there."

More shouts and breaking glass could be heard on the TV. "Mello, I'm so scared! I can't lose him! I can't lose Near too! I already lost L, and Watari is gone too! I can't lose another member of my family! I just can't!" I wailed into Mello's chest. "O-once they get in it's going to be over! A-and a-and its a live broadcast! Kira's probably watching! Once he sees Near..."

"Kira can't kill without a name too remember, you're probably the only one who knows Near's real name." I know he was only trying to cheer me up, he knew about the Kira who could kill with only a face. Oh God, Near was going to... "Hey look!" Mello broke into my depressing thoughts. I turned my head to the screen without leaving Mello's grasp.

It was money. There were thousands of bills falling from the sky. I tilted my head to the side in confusion; what was Near up to? Demegawa wasn't even paying attention to the building anymore; he was having the chopper hover from side to side so that he could grab all the money. One of the cameras focused in on the ground as a dozen police officers in riot gear exited the building. There was no Near.

Somehow, they'd made it.

I turned back to Mello and melded myself into him as my torrent of tears turned into a weak trickle. "That. Was. NOT. Cool."

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><p>Somehow we'd made it back to my apartment in my frazzled state. The first thing that happened when we opened the door, was Matt coming to give me an extra large bear hug. I guess he'd been watching the news as well. Matt was more sensitive when it came to issues involving Near.<p>

"Well enough of that," Matt said, releasing me after a moment. "I've got to make a supply run."

"Supply run? Matt it's after midnight," I said, noting the time on the clock.

"He's out of cigarettes," Mello cut in nonchalantly; picking up and turning over in his hands an empty pack of cigarettes that had been lying on the counter.

"Matt, seriously?" I asked, turning my attention from the empty pack to my empty headed friend.

"I'm just going to head down to that corner store on the... corner," he chuckled at his little pun as he slid on his coat. "I'll be right back," he smiled and closed the door behind him.

Mello sighed, "Okay, so what's our next move?"

"Next move!" I asked incredulous. Couldn't we even get some sleep first? But when Mello was as determined as he was now, he rarely ever slept.

"Will you stop starring at me?" I hadn't even realised that I had been.

"It's just, I remember what used to happen back at Wammy's when you'd push yourself this hard," I waited for some kind of response, but got none. "You'd be up so many nights in a row... and then end falling asleep in classes the next day." I said factually. Mello slipped a chocolate bar off the table and took a bite.

"Heh, I remember what happened after that too?"

"Hmm? What do you mean, 'what happened after that'?"

"What would happen after I fell asleep. Remember that one day? You spent all night helping me study for my classes. We went to history the next morning, and wouldn't you know it I fell asleep in class. Well the teacher started giving me hell."

"Yeah so?"

"Do you remember what she said?"

"No?" Where was Mello going with this? It seemed like the teachers were always giving him a hard time. What was so special about this one in particular?

"She told me she wasn't surprised that I was always second, on account of how I was always falling asleep in class. Well if you didn't give her hell for that one, she brought it up and it totally set you off. You stood up right there, went up to the teacher, and said..."

"Yeah, I remember now, 'How dare you!'" I mimicked my old self, "'You have no idea how hard Mello's worked for this class!'"

"And then you have the nerve to slap her too."

"She had the nerve to give me detention for the month," I chuckled wryly. "I suppose... I suppose it just bothered me to hear that. I mean, I knew how hard you were always working, how badly you wanted to succeed, the dedication you showed. It just... it was like she was down playing that, and it SO wasn't right of her to do that! I'd do it again you know, in a heartbeat. That detention was well worth the look on her face, and she never did say anything when you'd fall asleep after that ha-ha."

"I never did thank you for that," What? Talk about catching me off guard. There wasn't a time in my life where I could recall Mello thanking anybody for anything.

"Ha, you were probably too embarrassed to be seen anywhere near me after that," I made the best innocent face I could come up with, and waved off his comment. I really hope he didn't continue on this, it was making me uncomfortable.

"No I mean it. I really appreciate that you did that for me." I couldn't look at him; I didn't want to risk seeing the expression on his face, what would I see there? And what would he see if he saw me? Blushing! That's what he would see. How embarrassing.

"Ha, so you could sleep in class undisturbed?"

"Are you trying to downplay my gratitude? You have no idea how hard I had to work to make it sincere," he teased, and we laughed together.

And then, as suddenly as our laughter started, it stopped. I'd taken a seat on the loveseat, and Mello, Mello had finally come to sit beside me. Yes, because this wouldn't make me blush a hundred times harder.

Out of nowhere he leaned forward and his lips brushed gently against mine.

I gasped and my breath hitched in my throat. Instantly there was a rush of white hot adrenaline coursing through my veins and little bolts of lightning flitting around in my brain. I wondered if I'd ever get used to the sensation of him kissing me. I didn't know the answer to that, but I did know that I never wanted to.

Our lips were still locked when Matt let himself into my apartment.

"Whoa! Am I interrupting something?" Matt asked playfully, a knowing smile plastered on his face. He winked at us as we broke apart. "Yeeeah, way to be buddy." Matt came over and threw an arm around each of us from the back of the loveseat. "Group hug!" he hollered and fell over the back of the seat into our laps.

"Matt! Get off!" Mello barked. I couldn't stifle my laughter any longer, and the room erupted in a frenzy of merriment. Once I started Matt let lose as well, and soon even the pokerfaced Mello couldn't help but laugh.

For once in who knows how long we were just us. We were three teenaged kids, with teenage problems and teenage angst. We were three teenagers who were goofing off and having fun. We were three teenaged kids with teenage fun and teenage love. For once we didn't have to be the overly intelligent Wammy's kids or the, overly cautious Kira investigators. For once, we were just us.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Okay, I know my timeline is a bit off again in this one. At least according to this one site I'm getting my information from. Whether or not the site is correct is a different story, but whatever. I hope you guys will just accept it. And apparently Matt isn't even supposed to be in the story yet, but I doubt anybody has a real problem with it anyway :)

Alright, I've got questions for you guys today :D What do you like to listen to; your favourite bands, your favourite songs?


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: **Hey guys, here's another chapter for you all, sorry for such a late update. Thanks so much for the patience :) My story is going to be coming to a close rather soon. If anybody has any radical ideas they can give me, now's the time.

Also, to those of you who are reviewing/favouriting, you seriously make my day ^_^ 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Warning: **This chapter may contain slightly mature subject matter. I mean, I personally wouldn't call it too mature, but I think others might feel that it is, so what the heck :)

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 33.

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><p><em>For once in who knows how long we were just us. We were three teenaged kids, with teenage problems and teenage angst. We were three teenagers who were goofing off and having fun. We were three teenaged kids with teenage fun and teenage love. For once we didn't have to be the overly intelligent Wammy's kids or the, overly cautious Kira investigators. For once, we were just us.<em>

But one of the things about being who you are, is there are a lot of different parts that make you, you. And sooner or later, those different parts come out. The fact remained that we were teenagers, we were just kids. But we were also Wammy's kids; we were also investigating Kira.

By mutual consensus however, we'd decided to take a couple much needed days off to recharge. Matt spent his allotted time playing video games. I'd pulled out some of my old physics textbooks and ran through some problems to keep my brain in top working order. Mello was actually gone for most of the time. I didn't want to be nosy and ask what he was up to, but at the same time I worried that he might be getting into trouble... or worse, working on the case in secret.

Somewhere along the line Near had graced us with a call, letting us know he had relocated to New York and that he and his team were for the most part, in one piece. I was most relieved, Matt seemed uninterested, Mello was still MIA.

Matt was using his hand held gaming devise and I was reading a book when the door slammed. Matt and I must have both been secretly on edge because my book ended up in the intruder's face and Matt ended up on the floor on the far side of the loveseat.

"What's the big idea?" Mello asked, catching my book and strolling in.

"Good grief, you're asking US what the big idea is? You almost gave us heart attacks," ...No Kira reference intended.

"Heh, speak for yourself, I wasn't scared," Matt stated shakily, pulling himself up off the floor. We both looked at him like he was crazy.

"Sure Matt. You just made the Cowardly Lion look like Mark Twain," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mark Twain?"

"He was the one who once said something to the effect of, 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.'"

"Whatever," Matt said flatly and planted himself back on the recliner.

Mello came to sit beside me on the loveseat; I bolted up and headed for my bedroom. I caught the look of confusion on Mello's face as I passed him.

I made sure I closed the door behind myself, but not thirty seconds later it opened and Mello came in.

"What's up?" he asked me, a concerned tone in his voice.

For the past couple days I'd been considering the worst. And no, the worst wasn't even that Mello was getting into trouble over the case; the worst was something I scarcely had the nerve to admit to myself.

"I didn't know if you were coming back or not." I said flatly.

"Where else was I going to go?"

"That's not what I mean."

Mello took a moment to process what I'd just said before it clicked.

"Why would that even occur to you? Why would you even think that?" He took another moment before he was able to answer his own question. "You?" I nodded, and I felt him stiffen behind me. He grabbed my arm and spun me around so that I had to look at him. "Why! What were you thinking!" he was almost shouting, but not quite.

"What was I thinking?" I scoffed, "One, obviously I wasn't. Two, you know what I was thinking? All I could think about was how L had died, how Kira had won. How you'd left and how Near'd left, and how I was told I might never walk again. All I could think about was how Matt..." I jabbed a finger at the closed door, the subject in question being on the other side, "...was all I had left in the world, but it just wasn't enough, because I wasn't strong enough."

"Jewel..."

"Look, it's no big deal alright, it's over."

"No it's not over! How could you do something so reckless, so destructive?"

"You want to talk about destructive, go talk to your friend out there. You think he started smoking because it was 'cool'?" I snarled. "And you're the one who tried to make it on your own at fifteen!" I tried to keep my voice down for Matt's sake.

Mello started ranting then and I all but zoned out, only hearing bits and pieces, "...Jewel... Irresponsible... responsible decisions... destructive..." Finally as zoned out as I was I couldn't take it anymore.

"Destructive? You want to see destructive?" I tore my hands free from his grasp and reached down to my belt. After undoing it, and the button and zipper on my jeans, I let the denim fall to the floor to expose my bare legs.

All the way from my ankles to the bottom of my black briefs, angry white and pink lines crisscrossed over my flesh. "One for every painful memory," I told him. "Just enough to keep me alive, and just too many to let me live." I paused to let it sink in. "You think YOU had teen angst? Tch, you have no idea." I picked my jeans up from the floor and fastened them back around my waist. Mello hadnt made a sound.

Suddenly Matt burst into the room, television remote in his hands.

"Guys! Come check this out!"

We rushed into the living room as the last man standing on Demegawa's new program clutched his chest and fell to the ground. Followed closely by Demegawa himself.

Nobody in the room spoke. We all just stared. Kira had just killed his own man... it was clear that no one was off limits.

The events that had just taken place already a forgotten memory.

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><p>It wasn't too long after our little episode that we'd had to relocate to accommodate our surveillance needs. Near had asked us to keep an eye on Misa and Mogi while they were around. I couldn't believe we were doing this again. I'd already trailed Misa for a month, I hadn't discovered anything. I may not have been the best tail in the world, but did anybody really hope to discover any more than I had?<p>

This was pointless; and it was an extra drag that our 'relocation' had lead us to the grungiest building on the planet. I was sure that at any moment the Department of Health would burst in to condemn the roach motel... Nope, this place was even to dirty for cockroaches. It was dark, the wallpaper was tearing off, the flooring was chipped and the shades on the windows weren't fit to be used as grease cloths in a mechanics shop. I missed my apartment.

In total contrast to the building was our new equipment; brand new everything, and top of the line at that. Laptops, listening devises, cameras. Matt had even picked himself up a new gaming system. Mello had gotten for himself a box of chocolate bars to sustain him, and I had enough bubblegum to last to the apocalypse... which might be closer than everyone imagined, assuming Kira came out on top.

"Guys, check this out!" Matt said suddenly, turning his computer screen towards us, unplugging his headphones and turning up the volume.

"Good evening, this is Kiomi Takada from News Six. Starting today it is my duty to spread the word of Kira accurately and completely. From now on NHN..."

"Kiomi Takada?" I chirped, "That's the girl Light used to date in college! L had done a side investigation on her because of her connection to Light but the finding's had been inconclusive."

"Sush!" Mello scolded. Matt turned the volume higher on his laptop.

"Good evening, this is the nine o'clock news. First I have an announcement that comes directly from Kira, his words are to become the new law of the world. Kira will never forgive those people whose existence is a threat to justice. But he will also not forgive those who live wastefully and refuse to use their abilities to contribute to the betterment of society..."

I just might throw up.

"Well it sure didn't take them too long to replace Demegawa."

"Thanks Captain Obvious," Mello said to Matt. He'd sure been in a terribly touchy mood lately.

I couldn't look at the screen anymore; I turned around, disgusted. This had gone too far. It had been bad enough when Kira was killing criminals; it had been had enough when Kira started to kill people who were after him, but now what? Now he was just going to start killing EVERYBODY? Nobody was perfect, not even L had been perfect! Was Light planning on just wiping out the planet? Was he going to kill every human being, every man, woman and child? What was he going to do after that? Was he going to kill dogs and cats and freaking gold fish next? That power crazed megalomaniac! Talk about an antisocial personality disorder, delusions of grandeur... Oh the psych paper I'd write about him if we ever got through this.

"This is sick!" I hissed, "This is just freaking sick! He thinks he's a god but he's not! God isn't like this! God is just and caring, he loves people, even the people who do bad... even tax collectors!" It sounded like a joke but I was dead serious. I followed the silver chain around my neck fished under the neck line of my shirt for my cross. "People who waste? People who are lazy?" I asked Mello and Matt, "Who's he going to extend his reach to next? He's already got wrathful people on his list, he just added slothful people. So who's next? Envious people, gluttonous people, lustful people? What about greedy and prideful people? Because quite frankly I think that describes Kira to a T! He's probably quite proud of himself right now, he's got everybody beat. And he's even greedier than I am! And that's saying something!" I shouted.

Mello shot up off the dingy couch and walked forcefully over to me. He grabbed my arm and shoved me backward into the adjoining room; closing the door behind him, leaving Matt all alone.

And then he embraced me in the tightest hug I'd ever had. I started sobbing instantly as I could no longer contain the flood of emotions inside of me. My knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor with Mello still hanging onto me. I bawled into his chest and got my arms free enough so I could wrap them around him.

"I'm so fucking scared Mello!" I shrieked. "He's got us all backed into a corner. We, we can't fight fair anymore Mello! There's no more time for that. We have to act now! We have to end this before it gets any more out of hand. We need to go in shooting if it calls for it! We, we..." my wailing had overcome me completely, I'd run out of words.

"Listen to me Jewel, I'm going to do whatever I takes to make sure you don't get hurt alright?" He said the next part quietly, "Near's working on a plan, I think I might be able to help, we might have this solved more quickly than it looks okay? You're going to be fine!" I didn't like the way he was saying 'you're' and not 'we're', but I suppose I was the one in hysterics, not him. He only needed to convince me.

He held me in his arms until I stopped shaking and then lead me back into the other room. Matt acted as though nothing had happened and for that I was grateful. The last thing I needed was any more pity.

* * *

><p>I spent the next few days comatose at my computer. There was nothing left for me to do, and no more tears left in me to cry... at least for the moment.<p>

"Jewel, are you alright?" Mello pulled me from my stupor.

"Oh yeah, sure, why?"

"Because..." Mello came over to the computer. He took the mouse from my hands and ran it over some command boxes on the screen, "...I've never known you to lose even one game of FreeCell. You've just lost eight in a row."

I stared at the screen and sure enough the read out on the dialogue box proved his accusation. I sighed with disdain and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Look, I know we're all sick of this, so actually, I have an idea," he kind of smirked at me.

"What's your idea?" Matt cut in from this kitchen, his head in the fridge.

Mello looked at us, "We're going to Japan."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Wow, this chapter was so hard to write. I ran out of stuff to have happen in this one ha-ha. I hope it was still interesting. And sorry about the timeline mistakes... again, lol.

Alright, time for a poll. You guys get to vote on my next FanFic. I'm going to give you a couple options, and a couple little facts about each:

1. BB FanFic. This Fic I've kind of already started, and am more or less ready to dive right into because I already know everything I want to do with it. Also, it's relevant because I'm working with Death Note right now. This would not be a canon obviously... unless I happened to join the LABB Murder Case file, or whatever later on.

2. L FanFic. Same as above. This would be a canon though.

3. Mello FanFic. This would be a prequel to the story I just wrote. All about Mello and Jewel's life at Wammy's before and leading up to the Kira case. Also, because I would want to make it a love story in its own right, I would have to alter some facts, like Mello and Jewel's first kiss, as well as their love-hate relationship.

4. Gaara FanFic. This one I'm really excited about and really want to write. As before, I know what I want to have happen, and have already written the skeleton plot for it. This one would be a canon, but have an UBER love theme ;P However, Naruto is still running as far as I know, therefore, there may be a large break in the story where I wait for something new to happen with Gaara on account of it will be a canon.

5. Suprise me. Tell me who you want to see me write about.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: **Man, to think that this is all happening just next year; per say, lol. 'Cause, I mean, if it's 2011 now, and this is happening in 2012, well the dates speak for themselves... And that's another thing. That's how I know the world isn't going to end in 2012. Who's going to stop Kira if everyone dies in 2012? Kira is stopped in 2013 ;P ...Aaand I'm sorry if some of you didn't know that and I just ruined the rest of the series for you. I suppose I should have put a spoiler alert at the top of the page this time.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

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><p><strong>December 13 2012<strong>

I woke up especially early today, not an easy task in my opinion. Sleeping until noon was more my style. People always asked me how I could sleep so much, or why I slept so much. I always gave them the same answer. My dreams. My dreams were fascinating to me, and always more exciting, and positive than my reality. I loved my dreams; in my dreams Mello was mine, Matt was there for me, and Near was never too far away. In my dreams Kira was gone and L was still alive... Well, we all need dreams.

But I couldn't think about my dreams this morning; I had things to do. The past couple of days we had been getting ready for our trip to Japan, it was still a while before we had to go, but it gave us something to look forward to; a change of pace. There was something I had to do before we left though. Something I had to do today!

I snuck craftily out of my apartment, and onto the street. The purr of my engine would've woken the dead in the silence of this early morning, so I slid my car into neutral and pushed it down the block before I started it. The boys had had a long night; I hoped they'd sleep in late today.

First stop on my list was the party supply store. It was a miracle they were open this early on a Thursday, or on any day for that matter, but the fates I'm sure were on my side in this. I bought balloons and streamers and every other manner of birthday decoration in the place.

Next I went to see a very old friend of mine. I knocked on the back door of his shop and he let me in.

"Ahh Mademoiselle," he said in his glorious accent. "I 'ave vhat you 'ave come for." He took my hand and lead me through the back of his store where his few employees were getting ready for the early morning rush.

When we got to his office he released my hand to retrieve a box covered in black wrapping paper with a silver bow and ribbon from his shelf. "'ere you are m'dear. To your exact specifications: 'zee finest imported chocolates." I smiled mischievously.

"Ahh merci beaucoup monsieur," I bowed my head as I took the enormous box which was surprisingly heavy. The small French man had made carrying it look easy.

"Any'zing for a friend," he bowed his head as well. "'Zis must be one special man friend," the portly pastry chef winked at me.

"You have no idea," I winked, bowed again, and left the way I had come.

My next stop brought me to a grungy looking biker's store. Grungy it may have looked but it sold top of the line products. I strolled in like I owned the place.

"Ahh the diamond in the rough," the threatening looking manager said to me from behind the counter. "Here to pick up your package Jewel?"

"You know it," I flashed a toothy smile.

He went to the back for a moment and when he came back he had a rather large but flat box in his muscled hands. Just like the last box it was covered in black paper with silver accents. "When I can I interest you in one of these sweetie? You'd look so much classier in leather than denim." I glanced down at my threadbare coat; denim lasted a long time, but not forever. "We've got a whole women's line," the burly biker pressed.

"Tell you what, I'll take you up on your offer," I started, "But not today," I winked again and stuffed a piece of bubblegum in my mouth as I strolled out.

I ticked off one more item from my mental list; I needed to make sure I wouldn't forget anything. A normal person would've made a physical list, or maybe picked everything up ahead of time. But a normal person didn't have to deal with a genius in the house. Mello would've sniffed out my plot in a heartbeat. I checked my watch; I was slightly ahead of schedule. I'd overcompensated for the lack of traffic so early in the morning, but now it was starting to get congested. Everyone was on their way to work; those who weren't there already.

The cake was the last thing I had to pick up; I made my way over to Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, to Sweet Lady Jane. They'd done Jennifer Aniston's 40th birthday cake as well as Ellen and Portia's wedding cake. They were perfect.

The cake I'd requested was simple enough. In the shape of a 20, it would be the most...

"Ohh look! It's the chocolate girl!" cried one of the women on the floor, breaking my delicate train of thought. "You're cake is already miss! Chocolate batter with chocolate chips, layers of chocolate nougat and chocolate crunch, chocolate syrup, chocolate icing, all the way down to the chocolate sprinkles!"

I laughed at the monstrosity they had created for me. "And it has the chocolate..."

"The chocolate pudding in the center?" she finished for me, and signalled to another employee to get the cake from the back. "Of course it does! And the chocolate mousse made a great little cocoon for the chocolate ice-cream." She winked at me as a perfect cube wrapped in black paper with silver ribbons and a bow was handed to her. She handed it over to me and said, "We had it in the freezer so it wouldn't melt. I suggest putting it in the fridge just before you're going to serve it so it's not too hard. But not for too long mind you, the ice-cream you understand."

I nodded and thanked her whole heartedly.

I got back into my car and placed the cake delicately on the seat beside me. It was time to make the call.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" the voice on the other end answered.<p>

"Is it safe to talk?"

"Yeah, Mello's in the shower," the voice whispered on the other end. "I don't even think he's noticed you're gone."

"'kay good. Once he's out of the shower get him out of that apartment!"

"Can I let him get dressed first?"

"Smart ass. Now, you remember the plan?"

"We went over it fifty times, of course I do. I tell Mello you're missing. I give you a call when we're about to leave, and you don't answer. I drag Mello kicking and screaming into my car and we go looking for you. I call you once when we're away from the apartment and once again when we're on our way back. Unless of course you phone first and say it's safe to return. And above all else I don't mention to him that we remembered... hold on, I heard the water turn off. I'll call you in a bit," the last part was rushed as Matt hung up the phone.

Alright, now I play the waiting game.

I started making my way back to the apartment, but I couldn't get too close, and I couldn't afford to take a main street, if Mello and Matt actually found me when they were supposed to be looking for me, well that'd just be insane.

Not ten minutes later I got a call from Matt; a call I ignored. It was safe to move in.

I brought the cake in first and shoved it in the freezer. I told Matt to give me no less than an hour to set up the apartment. I would have plenty of time to unthaw it and still make sure the ice-cream stayed frozen.

In no time at all I had streamers and balloons hanging from every inch of my place. The entire apartment was spotless and the presents complete with sappy card were nestled on the coffee table. I was ready, I made the call.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh Jewel, it's you!" Matt said with a bit too much enthusiasm.<p>

"Of course it's me, who else would it be. Where are you guys? I come back to the apartment and no one's here." We were going through this conversation for Mello's benefit. If Matt was driving, which of course he was, he would have hooked his cell phone to his Bluetooth; Mello would be listening in.

"Where are we? Where were you?"

"I just went for a run. Woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep. You guys worry too much," I teased. "Come on back I'm making breakfast." If cake could be considered breakfast, and if I had made it. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Alright, we're on our way."

Mello's complete silence had been apparent through that conversation. I wondered if he was mad that he thought we'd forgotten his birthday. And then I wondered if he had remembered his birthday himself. There'd been so much on his mind lately.

But that's what this was about; to celebrate Mello's birthday and to hopefully take his, and our minds off of Kira... even if it was only for a couple hours.

There was one thing I hadn't considered when I was planning this party. Where was I going to stand when the guys came in? I was self conscious enough as it was. If I stood in the middle of the room to emphasise the decorations I would put myself in an uncomfortable position. If I was sitting casually on the loveseat like I wanted, it would be like the whole event was being down played.

I eventually settled for sitting on the arm of the loveseat, and that's where I was when the door creaked open.

It wasn't Mello, and it wasn't Matt.

* * *

><p>"CARTER!"<p>

"Whew, you look like you've got some kind of shindig going on here."

Bloody Hell!

"Get out NOW Carter!"

"Aww, was this because I didn't knock? You always had a thing about knocking."

"And you always had a thing about not knocking, now get out this instant!" Mello and Matt would be back any second! Wait, that gave me an idea! "Mello and Matt are going to kick our butt when they get back!"

"So, you wouldn't let me move in, but you're already sleeping with TWO guys?"

"You're just jealous because I never put out for you," I stuck my tongue at him. "Now get out, or I WILL put you out!"

"Ohh, feisty. Just the way I always liked you."

I didn't have time for this.

Usually I was a peaceful person; usually I tried not to resort to violence. Today was not a usual day.

I stood from my seat and stormed over to him. I made like I was going to punch him, but instead landed a kick to his most priceless possession. Carter doubled over and I took this time to silently thank him that he hadn't walked any further into my apartment. He was no more than a foot from the closet, which allowed me room enough to reach into it and pull out my baseball bat.

One good clunk later and Carter was unconscious on my floor. Two rolls of duct tape after that and I was rolling Carter down the stairs and out the back door. I got some strange looks on the way down but no one questioned me. After I'd rolled him behind the nearest dumpster I booked it back up to my apartment and resumed my position on the loveseat. I barely had time to catch my breath before the door opened again; before Mello and Matt walked in.

* * *

><p>The look on Mello's face was priceless. Surprise = Success. Matt started laughing and gave Mello a firm slap across the shoulder, sending Mello stumbling forward.<p>

Mello stared in shock at me and so finally I had to say, "Happy birthday Mello." I smiled sweetly and tried not to blush. The look on his face was well worth the trouble I'd just gone through; finally something a little more than disdain was showing.

"Happy birthday to youuu, happy birthday to youuu," Matt broke into an off-key rendition of the traditional song of the day; I just smiled sheepishly.

Mello made his way over to me and I shrugged at the question in his eyes.

"W-when...?"

"Just now," I smiled again. It was unusual to see Mello unable to find his words; I hoped it was a good sign.

"Buddy!" Matt hollered. He came up behind Mello and caught him in a headlock.

"Oi, get off!" Mello coughed, but the seriousness was gone from his tone.

"Do you want the presents or the cake first?" I broke in. Traditionally, (at least this was what I found,) the games came first at any party, then the food, the cake and then the presents. Well since a rousing game of chess was out of the question, on account of my missing board, and with Mello's lack of interest in Matt's video games, I figured we could skip the 'games' bit. And since Mello ate nothing but chocolate and Matt ate almost nothing at all, the need for an excessive spread of food was not required. That left the cake and presents.

"There's a cake?" As much as he tried to hide it, there was a hint of excitement in his tone.

I bounded into the kitchen and fished the cake out of the fridge.

Three hours and three chocolate smeared faces later we were all passed out on top of each other on the floor.

"I've, never, eaten, so, much, in, my, life," I groaned.

"You know, there's a new British survey out that says that nine out of ten people like chocolate, and the tenth lies," we all chuckled.

"Man, I didn't think it was possible to cram so much chocolate into one cake."

"Anything that is good and useful is made out of chocolate," Matt said again, and we all had to agree.

"The only thing better than good friends, is good friends with chocolate," Matt and I raised our heads from the floor to look at each other. Had Mello just said something sentimental?

"Well of course; money talks, but chocolate sings."

"Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Monday's."

We spent the rest of the day trying to pull our chocolate coated selves off of the floor and bouncing jokes and quotes about chocolate off of each other. Good times.

* * *

><p>It was after dark before we cleaned ourselves up. Matt said he was going out for a smoke and would be back in a while. It must have been a little more than a smoke if it was going to take him a 'while' but I wasn't going to say anything. I had a feeling Matt and Mello had been planning something of their own.<p>

After the door closed behind Matt I said to Mello, "I've got something I want you to know." Mello looked at me as if to say, 'What could you possibly have left to tell me?' I smiled reassuringly and said, "I want you to know my name."

"Your name! But Jewel, what if it gets out, what if..."

"'What if' nothing. I've made up my mind Mello." He opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off, "I already know yours, it's only fair."

"But what if Kira uses me to get to you? You've already told me Kira can manipulate people into giving him information. That's the same thing that happened to Raye Pember, and that's probably how Kira found our base back in Los Angeles."

"My mind is made up." The look on Mello's face? Defeated. "Don't you, don't you want to know it?" Mello looked up from the floor to look me in the eyes. I feigned being hurt; which actually wasn't much of a stretch.

"Of course I do," he rested his hands on my shoulders, "but not at the cost of your life."

"Mello please, so long as I have you and Matt looking out for me, I'll be fine," I winked at him.

"I'll let you tell me... on one condition."

"What condition?" I asked suspiciously.

"Close your eyes."

"That's the condition?" I asked saucily, but did so anyway.

"Don't get smart, hold on a second." I heard Mello leave the room for a second, shuffle a drawer and come back. "Hold out your hand."

"'Hold on a second,' 'Hold out your hand.' What am I going to be holding next I wonder?" I let my sarcasm disguise my nervousness; Mello was acting weird.

I held out my hand and felt a small, velvet box being placed in my ivory hand. Oh no. My lungs stopped breathing, my brain exploded and I could almost swear I was having a heart attack.

What was I getting so worked up for? I mean, it could be a pair of earrings, a collectable coin, an antique pin; hell, he could've bought me a car and put the key inside this box.

And then I took a moment for myself and asked myself WHY was I getting so worked up? Assuming it was what I thought it was, didn't that just mean it was the beginning of everything I always wanted?

I opened my eyes and found a black velvet box with the tiniest silver bow I'd ever seen. Matt had been in on it. He was the one who'd told me the colours to use for Mello's gifts. I opened the box and sure enough, it was what I thought it was. In that moment I realised it was definitely the beginning of everything I always wanted.

My voice caught in my throat and my breath hitched in my lungs as I beheld the glorious stone before me. It was a full carat, princess cut stone. I would hazard a guess in my almost expert, but blind opinion that the colour grade was quite high. Clarity was impossible to tell for me, but I would suspect Mello would settle for nothing less than the best attainable. A brilliant fire escaped the table of the diamond and my heart leapt and the beauty. The band was white gold with a unique braided pattern. It was breathtaking.

"That's an awfully pretty stone in my opinion, but you're the only jewel in my life."

"I can't believe you sapped out like that brutha'," came a muffled voice from the other side of the door. "Can I come in yet?" Matt asked playfully.

"I haven't even asked her yet idiot!" Mello called back.

"But you gave her the rock right? The rest is implied."

I started howling with laughter. "Come on in Matt," I said, wiping little droplets from the corners of my eyes. Matt threw the door open dramatically, a bottle of champagne and three glasses in his hands.

"She might've... might still say 'no' genius, I told you to wait with the champagne."

"She's not going to say anything until you ask her, now git 'r done!"

Mello sighed and I could just picture the mental face-palm he was doing.

He looked back to me earnestly.

"Jewel, will you marry me?"

I took another look at the ring and smiled evilly.

"On one condition."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I got the idea for this chapter from an actual real life experience. However, it was much more of a close call on the surprise almost being spoiled, and it required more than two people to pull it off in time ha-ha. Man it was fun though! It was my friend Laurel's 19th so Paula and I decided to throw her a surprise party. I went down and got the cake, and the presents and the decorations. Paula and I decorated her room while Rikki kept her busy and of course we couldn't have done it without Simon... These people need their props. We pulled off the best surprise party ever because of them :) We finished with seconds to spare and then almost gave it away because we couldn't stop laughing. Good times.

So anyway, I actually checked a calendar. Yes! December 13, 2012 IS on a Thursday ^_^ Here's your 'Did 'Ya Know' for the day: Taylor Swift has the same birthday as Mello. Yeah, she's on Ellen right now (what a series of cool coincidences,) and I was wondering when her birthday was, and sure enough, December 13.

Also, as a side note I would like to say that I hope the cake store likes the free publicity and does not decide to sue me :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: **HAPPY (belated) CANADA DAY EH! To call my Canadian friends, and anyone else who wants to celebrate with us :) And HAPPY (belated) 4th OF JULY to all my American readers too :) I had plans to have the chapter uploaded on Canada Day, but I got deathly sick for a little while. I had one of those 48 hour deals but it knocked me off my feet for quite a while.

Also, to those of you who are reviewing/favouriting/alerting, you seriously make my day ^_^ 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 34.

**Warning:** This one is a tad citrusy. It's not a full on lemon, but it's implied. I don't mean to offend anyone :)

* * *

><p><em>He looked back to me earnestly.<em>

"_Jewel, will you marry me?"_

_I took another look at the ring and smiled evilly. _

"_On one condition." _

"'One condition'? What condition?"

I snapped the black velvet box closed and handed it back to him; Mello looked genuinely concerned, that was new for him. "You have to ask me again." Now he just looked confused. "But you have to use my real name." I put on my angel face, and my toothy smile went ear to ear.

Mello chuckled, "I think I can live with that."

"'Kay good." I leaned forward and whispered my real name sensuously in his ear. As I was about to back up Mello pulled me in close and whispered something in my ear. Matt took this as some kind of cue to leave and turned towards the door. "Just where are you going?" I asked him. "Don't you want to be here for this?"

"But then I'll know your real name too," it was Matt's turn to look concerned.

"Silly Matt, I'm not going to leave my best friend out of the loop," Matt's face brightened. I dramatically threw my arms around him and gave him a huge bear hug.

"So, can I ask now?" Mello interrupted.

I chuckled and Matt pried my arms off of him. He gave me a gentle shove towards Mello and I smiled up at him.

There was an intense silence in the air for a moment, and then Mello asked.

"Jessica River, will you marry me?"

I was beaming.

Mello snapped open the little black box and held it in front of my face.

"Yes. Yes Mihael Keehl, I would be honoured to marry you."

I had never felt so happy, so blissful, so at peace in my entire life.

Mello gingerly slipped the ring out of its velvet casing and onto the fourth finger of my left hand. The world was so crazily perfect in that instant. I wasn't sure if I could ask for anything more in my life than what was in my living room. I had my best friend and my true love... and I was getting married.

I took a small leap into Mello's waiting arms and just let him hold me. I could grow quite accustomed to the way this felt. I could grow quite accustomed to the feeling of our smooth skin pressing lightly against each other, my face nuzzling against his neck. I could grow quite accustomed to the way he smelt, the intoxicating scent of chocolate. Yes, I could grow quite accustomed indeed.

I pulled my face away for a second and caught a glimpse of Matt standing there with the softest, most sincere smile on his face. I removed one arm from Mello and held it out wide, motioning for Matt to join us; to join us in one big group hug. I was beyond surprised when Mello did the same thing. There was no way for Matt to get out of it now. Two steps later and we were all wrapped up in each other's arms in a loving embrace.

Best. Day. Ever.

* * *

><p>Because I had had such an amazing day with my friends and because Mello was in such a good mood, I decided to wait a couple of days before I put in my request.<p>

"M-Mello?" I asked cautiously as he was looking over some files. Near had just called us to inform us about some guy named Teru Mikami, he was believed to be doing Kira's killings for him.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Well I was wondering," I started, twisting the gorgeous white gold wedding ring sitting on my finger. "You know I don't want a big wedding right?" Matt had been horrified when I'd informed him, but Mello seemed to have relaxed after I'd told him.

"Yes, so? What are you getting at?" he looked at me worriedly, like I might decide to back out unexpectedly.

"Well I was thinking, just a small little chapel wedding right. You, me, Matt..."

"Point?"

"Well we need two witnesses to sign papers anyway," I said hurriedly, waving my hand around like what I was going to ask next was no big deal.

"Near?" Mello asked before I could even finish.

I hung my head and nodded solemnly. I head Mello's footsteps drawing closer to me and I squinted my eyes. I felt Mello's gloved hand on my chin as he forced me to look up at him. There was a kind smile on Mello's face and my jaw fell open in surprise. It was no secret that it was hard for him to go along with what I was asking; it was very sweet of him to agree to it without complaining. He nodded and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. My heart leapt; as it always did when he kissed me.

We set a date for a beautiful summer wedding.

* * *

><p>It was only days later when we made our way to Japan. A cold New Year's came and went. Matt, Mello and I toasted at midnight, but I think the three of us felt there really wasn't anything to celebrate... not yet at least. At least we'd managed to survive another year.<p>

It was a cold night in the middle of January when I whispered to Mello, "Mello, I don't want to do this anymore. Someone's going to get hurt." I felt tears coming on, this was ridiculous. Since when was I so weak? Since when did I break down all the time? I'd managed to keep my feelings in check for years. I used my head and never got emotionally involved in anything. I'd learned a long time ago that ties to people only ended in pain. So why was I so...

"More people are going to get hurt if we don't do this." He waited a moment, "Besides, aren't you the one who's always saying, 'We've been over this already,'?"

I nodded sadly. "I didn't think I had as much to lose back then though," I said as an excuse.

"You know Kira won't rest until he's killed everybody on the planet. Killing criminals just isn't enough for him anymore; we've seen that first hand. He's going to go on killing until he's stopped. People addicted to power like him, will not willingly give it up."

I think that was the longest succession of words I'd ever heard Mello say, and his conviction was absolutely moving. I picked myself off of the moth-eaten recliner I was sitting on and joined Mello on the couch. I got as close as I could to him without directly sitting on him. We spent the next hour or so waiting for Matt to get back from buying more surveillance equipment. I sighed with relief as he walked through the door.

It was no secret that it was hardly safe for us to go out anymore; and when one of us did go out, the other two were left wondering if they would make it back alive. I leapt up from the couch and ran over to give him a hug as he put down a box of gadgets. He just patted my head and shooed me back over to Mello.

The three of us barely spoke anymore; there wasn't a whole lot left to say.

We'd managed to get stuck in another cheap motel overlooking what was believed to be Kira's hideout. I'd positively identified Mogi and Misa working their way around the building a couple times. We'd informed Near and however he had decided to do it, he now had Mogi and Misa in custody. It was something like a citizen's arrest I imagined.

"Matt, come sit," I patted the cushion beside me on the couch and motes of dust shot up into the air. Nice.

"I've got to set this stuff up first," he said as he began pulling assorted wires from the box and plugging them into various mechanical looking items.

I sighed quietly, and reminded myself that at least he'd made it back alright. At least he was still alive. And then something occurred to me. What would happen if next time they didn't come back? What would happen if I never got to see them again? It was time to come up with my own plan.

* * *

><p>There were two parts of my plan, and I discussed each part with Matt and Mello separately.<p>

The next day, as discussed with Mello, I grabbed my scarf and coat and took Matt by the hand to lead him out of our dingy little room. He was moderately surprised because I'd only discussed the part of my plan that concerned Mello with him, but he went along with it anyway.

We spent the day walking through parks and reminiscing about happier times; like we had when I'd been all but comatose after L's death. We went into an amusement park and he bought me cotton candy, one of my all-time favourites. We watched the sunset over a frozen pond. I treasured each and every moment we were together and silently prayed we would be able to do this again someday. I loved Matt so incredibly, I would die inside if I lost him; he was my best friend, he was always there for me.

"Hey Jewel," he said as we watched the last rays of sun disappear under the horizon.

"Yeah?" I looked up at him and discovered a wistful smile on his face.

"I... I want you to know my name too. My real name." His real name? I wasn't even sure if Mello knew his real name. I mean, he probably did, but still...

"I'd be honoured to know Matt."

"Mail."

"Pardon?"

He chuckled lightly, "That's my name, Mail. Mail Jeevas." There was a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mail Jeevas," an angelic expression landed on my face as I extended my hand towards him. His laugh was stronger as he took my hand and shook it. "You may call me Jesse," I teased in a light-hearted tone. He laughed again and then moved closer to hold me in his arms.

It was so nice and warm being so close to him. I loved his hugs; they were always so comforting. They were different from Mello's hugs, but still just as glorious. I recalled a quote I'd heard in what seemed like forever ago. A person needs four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance and twelve hugs a day for growth.

I went to sleep with a little more peace in my heart that night.

* * *

><p>The next day, I spent with Mello. I signalled Matt with a pleading look; he got the hint.<p>

"I'm going out, I'll be back in a while," he said quietly. It seemed as though these days the few words we spoke were said barely above a whisper, and always with a hint of sadness and defeat. Even the door closed solemnly behind Matt.

"Mello," I breathed into his neck, "please, please don't ever leave me."

"I'll always be with you Jesse." He'd been calling me Jesse when we were alone. It was a nickname I'd picked up when I was little, even before going to Wammy's House. It was a nickname only the people who were closest to me ever called me.

"Do you promise me Mello? Do you promise you'll be with me forever?" I'd lost Mello for the four some odd years after he'd left Wammy's. They were four of the hardest years of my life, and I wasn't sure if I could go through that again; if I could live without Mello. And this time, this time if things went wrong, it would be far longer than four years before I saw him again.

"I'll always be with you; in one way or another."

I didn't like the way he said that.

"Mello," I started timidly, "will... will you be with me?"

Without another word Mello picked me up bridal style and carried me across the room. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself into his chest. I loved the feeling of being in Mello's arms and so I just let him hold me. I would love to grow quite accustomed to the way this felt. I would love to grow quite accustomed to the feeling of our smooth skin pressing lightly against each other, my face nuzzling against his neck. I would love to grow quite accustomed to the way he smelt, the intoxicating scent of chocolate. Yes, I would love to grow quite accustomed indeed; but I silently feared that I would never have that chance.

We spent the night together, and I'm sure neither of us heard when or even if Matt came back. We woke up in each other's arms, starring into each other's eyes. Sometime during the night I must have started - and not stopped – crying, for Mello gently wiped away my tears.

And then from the living room we heard Mello's phone ring...

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Sorry this one's a little short. It was going to be combined with the next chapter, but I think the next chapter deserves to be on its own, to have the full attention of the readers.

I'd like to give a shout-out to 'snowflakeyukiharuno' for the awesome idea I was given for the wedding :)

So let me run an idea by you guys. What do you guys think of me doing a song Fic? Like, if I turned one of my following stories into one? Let me know :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: **Well, this is it. There's this chapter, and then the next one, and MAYBE an epilogue if you guys say you want one. I have a great idea for it, and I think every story needs an epilogue, but as it is, I'm not sure if I'm going to finish it yet.

And hey, sorry the last chapter was so choppy. I totally ran out of inspiration on that one. I hope this chapter makes up or it :)

Also, to those of you who are reviewing/favouriting/alerting, you seriously make my day ^_^ 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 35.

* * *

><p><strong>January 26, 2013<strong>

I couldn't get that phone call out of my head. It'd been days already, but I just couldn't get it out of my head; something was so wrong. As it was I was left out of more and more conversations, I was left out of more and more planning sessions. It was like they were trying to not tell me what they were up to; and it all started after that phone call.

I replayed the events, looking for any clue I could use to figure out what they were up to.

_We spent the night together, and I'm sure neither of us heard when or even if Matt came back. We woke up in each other's arms, starring into each other's eyes. Sometime during the night I must have started - and not stopped – crying, for Mello gently wiped away my tears._

_And then from the living room we heard Mello's phone ring._

_Mello looked quizzically at me for a moment, as if the thought had never occurred to him that someone might call him. He tossed the covers back and went for the door._

"_Mello! Phone!" Matt called, "It's... it's important."_

_Mello's eyes narrowed before he reached the door handle. I tossed my own covers off and went to join him but the sinister look he shot me had me sitting back down on the edge of the bed. "Stay in here for a minute," he ordered me. I opened my mouth to object, but just nodded and hung my head instead. Mello made a point of closing the door securely behind him._

I had wanted so badly to creep to the door, to hear what they were talking about; maybe if I had I would know what this was about. What had unnerved me the most was what happened after the phone call though. After I'd knocked on the door, asking for permission to come out, I'd watched Mello go to take a bite of chocolate... and then stop. He'd placed the chocolate bar back on the counter and seemed to have no interest in it whatsoever. I'd turned towards Matt and found him suspiciously absorbed in one of his videogames.

For the past couple days I'd been trying to subtly get it out of them, what they were up to, but they'd been more tight lipped than usual.

"Hey Jess," Matt said out of nowhere, zapping me from my worry fest.

"Oh uh, yeah, what's up?" I realised I kind of liked the way Matt had taken my nickname and altered it to fit his personality. And suddenly, without warning the temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees as I realised Matt and Mello were both looking at me with the most chilling looks on their faces. I'd seen them with a lot of expressions on their faces, anger, hate, determination, but fear? Fear was rarely, if ever, one of them. And yet there it was, as plain as day.

"W-what's going on?" I asked, my voice noticeably shaking.

"We're going for a drive, grab your stuff."

"My stuff? What kind of stuff? My surveillance equipt..."

"No, just your scarf and coat. Grab your bear too."

"Virginia?" What was going on? What was this all about? "Guys you're scari..."

"Just let's go okay, we're on a tight schedule."

"Alright," I said defeated. I went back into the bedroom to grab my bear and saw Mello's bunny beside it, I decided to grab him too.

I came back into the main room where the guys were packing up the rest of their gadgets, leading me to believe we were just relocating. It didn't occur to me at the time though, that they'd never acted this strangely when we'd relocated before.

I went to reach for my scarf and coat that I'd left hanging on the back of one of the chairs in the small kitchenette, but found only my scarf. My coat was gone.

"Guys have you seen my coat?" I asked. I didn't see the glance they shot at each other as my back was turned.

"Here, take mine," Mello suggested, draping it over my shoulders like he'd been ready to do that the whole time. It was Mello's favourite coat, and the one I loved the most as well. I'd voiced my opinion on it a number of times, saying how much I adored it. It was the full length one with the warm hood.

"But, but won't you need it?" I asked.

"No, just take care of it for me." What was that supposed to mean?

"Alright, I guess I'm ready then."

* * *

><p>I was ushered into the back seat of Matt's Camaro. I sure loved old cars like this; Camaro's had always been my favourites. Everyone had always given me a hard time, saying how there was so many better muscle cars out there that I could pick from, but Matt, Matt had always agreed with me.<p>

I hadn't really been paying much attention so I was surprised when Mello slid into the back beside me. Mello was always either on his bike, or in the front with Matt. I was starting to feel sick with worry.

Mello wrapped me up in his arms and I wanted so desperately to just enjoy that feeling, but I couldn't quell the worry in my mind.

We drove around for a while and ended up in the parking lot of yet another run down building. It looked like a tiny prison from the outside. There was a chain link fence around it, with barbed wire at the top and the walls were high.

What on Earth are we doing here? I wanted to ask, but didn't.

"C'mon, we're going inside," his tone was so cool, so emotionless. Mello held the car door open for me.

We walked up to the gate in front and Mello clicked open the padlock that was holding a chain in place to keep the gate closed.

There was an eerie silence as we walked up to the building and through the halls. Our footsteps echoed through the empty building and I realised it was more of an asylum than a prison; and it was built like a maze. I adjusted my glasses with my left hand as my right hand was holding onto Mello.

We finally stopped when we came to a large empty room. It looked like an office; there were old filing cabinets tucked away in the corner and a rather large desk.

The desk struck me as odd, because on it was a police scanner and a radio tuned into the news channel. Matt's gaming system was sitting on the corner of the desk as well, and so was his... cat. Just like Mello and I, and even Near, Matt had been given a stuffed animal when he'd attended Wammy's. His had been a cat, I'd only ever seen it a handful of times but I recognized it, even after not having seen it for years and years. I was sure Matt had lost it when he was little, but sure enough, there it was.

"Alright, that's it. I want some real answers, and now!" I demanded. I turned towards Mello, "I don't want any more..." my words caught in my mouth as I felt two strong arms latch onto me from behind and shaggy red hair brush against my cheek.

"M-Matt?" he released me and gave me a small shove into Mello's arms.

Mello's hug was so tight it was almost suffocating.

"Mello," I cried and pressed myself into him. "W-what are you doing? What's going on! Tell me now!" I sobbed into his chest.

Catching me off guard he picked me up and walked me over to the far side of the room where a smaller door stood, almost invisible. He put me down and with one hand he opened the door; with the other he shoved me inside.

"Mello!" I shrieked.

I stumbled backwards and noticed that the frame of the door actually had a double barrier. There was a door made of iron bars on the inside, and the regular wooden door that I had seen on the outside. Mello closed the iron barred gate and I heard a deadbolt slid into place before I had a chance to stop him; forever separating us.

"Mello what are you doing!" I cried, tears welling up behind my eyes. I grabbed an iron bar in each hand and pulled futilely.

"Do you want to see something really 'reckless and destructive'?" he asked, referencing our little episode which had taken place about a month before. I don't need you getting involved in the next part of the plan." I opened my mouth to object, "Now shut up, I know what you're going to say. 'We're in this together,' and whatever else. And yes we are Jesse, but there are some things that you just don't need to be a part of, understand."

I turned my attention to Matt, as it was apparent that Mello was going to be completely unreasonable. "Matt, c'mon, don't do this. Let me out of here! Whatever it is I can help! I won't get in the way I promise! You can't leave me here!" Matt refused to look at me, or even acknowledge that I was speaking. I turned back to Mello, "Don't do this Mello. Don't leave me here like you left me at Wammy's." Yes it was low of me to play that card, but I couldn't let him go!

"Matt'll come get you out when we're done." Matt? Why would Matt have to come get me out?

"And where will YOU be?" I asked accusingly. He turned away from me. And then it clicked; something that I'd been trying to not realise, something that my most basic instinct of self preservation had kept me from realising until just now. "MELLO NO! Don't do this! Please!" I begged. "You can't! There's got to be another way! Let me out and we can come up with another plan! We can figure this out!"

I reached my hands through the bars in a useless attempt to draw Mello back to me. "I'm sorry Jesse. I love you, so much."

"Mello." He came back to the barred door, and awkwardly as it was we shared one last hug and Mello kissed me more passionately than I've ever been kissed in my entire life. My eyes burned and my heart ached, and every other part of my body was numb.

Mello pulled away, "Goodbye Jesse."

"Mello. Matt."

"Goodbye Jess." Matt placed my bear and Mello's rabbit on the desk beside his cat; I hadn't even realised he'd grabbed them. I fell to my knees as I watched them leave.

* * *

><p>I sat, crying shamefully in self pity for quite a while before I decided I wasn't going to let them get away with this. I pulled myself off the floor and took in my surroundings. I hadn't even realised what kind of room I was in until now... if you could call it a room. It was more of a closet, a long narrow closet with dusty shelves of dustier boxes and files piled all the way to the ceiling; I was in an old record room no doubt. That could even explain the barred door; private records were meant to be kept private.<p>

There had to be a way out though; there just had to be. No place was inescapable, Houdini proved that. I took my scarf and Mello's coat off and laid them on a shelf. "Okay," I rubbed my hands together determinedly, "first things first, the door." I gave a hard tug on it to test its strength. Then I checked the pins that were holding the door on the hinges to see if I couldn't just pop them out; but no dice. The next most obvious solution would be to find something to lever the door open, but there was nothing in the room that seemed practical enough. I thrummed my fingers in the air as I thought. What about the lock? I asked myself and felt around the other side of the door for the key hole, but it didn't appear as though I had anything to pick it with. I caught a glimpse of a set of keys lying on the desk by the radio, but they were too far to reach, and I had nothing to assist me in reaching them.

Next I checked the ceiling and floor for something like a ventilation shaft or trap door, but there was no such luck. Really though, who constructed this building? In every movie I'd ever seen there was always a ventilation shaft. I took a deep breath.

I could get out of here; I would get out of here. The lives of my friends depended on me; it was up to me to save them! I looked around anxiously, trying not to panic. I just had to think about this rationally. I furrowed my brow and thrummed my fingers again, and then impatiently shoved them into my jeans pocket. I don't know why, but I was surprised when I found them to contain gum. I shoved a stick in my mouth and took another deep breath.

It was then that something caught my attention on the radio.

"Our latest report is that the escort team was forced to shoot one of the perpetrators. They are also still making efforts to track Ms. Takada's whereabouts"

What? Ms. Takada? Light's girlfriend? Kira's spokesperson? What was she doing on the news? I listened intently as the reporter recounted the events that had recently unfolded. Fear and anger and rage built in me with each spoken word. Apparently there had been a car, an orange Camaro, and apparently there had been a motorcyclist. My heart fell and a lump the size of an apple caught in my throat.

I had to get out of here NOW!

There was no more time for rational thought, it was time for action. With the little I knew about carpentry I picked a spot on the wall close to the deadbolt of the door where I figured there was least likely to be a stud, and I kicked with all my might. My steel toed boots crunched through the ancient drywall easily and I took that as a good sign. I kicked again and again until finally with my last kick I dislodged the lock. I pulled the barred door into the closet and pushed the wooden door into the room. The voice on the radio rang out again.

"As for the suspect who was gunned down earlier, we are still unable to identify him. The police are tracking the remaining suspect..."

'Gunned down?' Had Matt been gunned down? There was a stabbing pain in my chest and I fought the urge to break down again. I couldn't though. I still had a job to do, Mello was still out there.

I raced through the building, leaving everything I had there behind; I'd get it later. I burst out the front door and booked it for the gate... the locked gate. Mello and Matt hadn't left anything to chance. There were a half a dozen chains and padlocks wrapped around the opening. Even for someone as small as I was, there was no getting through; my only chance was over. Over the ten foot fence, and over the barbed wire that lay in wait at the top. There was no doubt it was going to hurt, but there was no pain on Earth that was even remotely comparable to losing the ones you loved. And so, I backed up and took a running leap at the fence, using my momentum to help me hoist myself up. I hadn't really worked out since before I'd joined Mello in his crusade almost a year ago, but I still had enough left in me to get the job done. And besides, when you're working off of adrenaline, well nothing can stop you then.

* * *

><p>I fought desperately to ignore the searing pain as the cold metal sliced through my arms and sides. I fought desperately to ignore the acute pain that shot up from my ankle to my brain when I landed on the ground a little too hard.<p>

The facility was in the middle of a more or less deserted locale but I quickly made it to a main road and hailed a cab. I spat the address for Takada's studio and ordered the driver to step on it. When we finally got there the police tape was already up and cop cars were everywhere. There was one car that stood out though. I tossed five twenties at the drivers face and raced across the courtyard.

"HALLE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, she was just ducking into her gloss black Mercedes. "Halle wait!" I ordered, and half ran, half limped over to her. "Where's Mello!" I demanded of her when I got close. "WHERE!"

"Get in," she sighed and slipped into the driver's seat. I followed suit and slid into the passenger's. Halle shot me a worried look, but it seemed she was more worried that I was going to bleed on her seats than anything else.

We raced down the freeway, taking an exit here and an exit there. Finally the highway gave way to less crowded streets and finally to back roads. We stopped outside an old stone wall that was leaning in, in some places and leaning out in others and standing straight nowhere. Where we parked there was a large gap in the structure where the wall had crumbled away completely. And then I saw it; the smoke.

I threw open the car door and I heard Halle do the same behind me. I raced around the fallen wall and found myself in an open area surrounding an old church... an old, burning church.

"Mello!" I started to run towards the inferno but felt a cold, steely hand grasp my bloody arm.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you crazy?"

"Are you? We have to get him out of there!"

"It's too late."

"You don't know that!" I cried and felt tears starting to build up again.

"We both know that!" she shouted at me.

"Shut up! Shut up!" I tried to pull away from her, but only succeeded in tearing up my arm further. "Let me go! I have to get him out!" I spat at her. "Mello!" I cried back to the building, tears distorting my already blurry vision. "Mello!"

I fell to my knees and Halle released her grip on my arm. Everything got hazy in that moment and I could've sworn I heard someone far away, someone far away shrieking and wailing.

"Shut up! You sound like a banshee," Halle cussed at me. I guess it was me that was screaming.

"You vile harpy! This is all your fault," I accused. "You! You're the one who called him that day! I checked the number!"

"This was Mello's idea you selfish woman. Mello did this to save you!"

"I didn't know! You did! You should have stopped him!"

"Kira can be brought to justice now!"

"At what cost! At the cost of the two most important people in my life!"

"Do you think you're the only one who lost somebody?" I just started wailing again. "Let's go!" she yanked me up roughly by my arm and all but threw me back into her car.

"Where are we going?" I demanded.

"The SPK's headquarters."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So I debated a couple ways for Jewel to get out of the 'prison/asylum' as it were. I hope the one I chose wasn't too unbelievable.

For those of you unfamiliar with Irish folklore, a banshee was believed to cry out before a person was to die. In this case, both of those in the fire were already dead, however you may choose to see the shrieking as an omen or foreshadowing to Light's death... Aaand I just gave away the ending again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys liked the last chapter, sad as it was. This chapter was going to be quite a bit longer than all the others have been, but it ended up being over TWICE as long as the other chapters. I really only wanted to have 20 chapters; a nice even number you know. But I figured that people might not appreciate having to read over 6,000 words at once. So I decided to do what the anime did and break it down into two connected chapters :)

Also, to those of you who are reviewing/favouriting/alerting, you seriously make my day. It really makes me so happy to know that you're enjoying my story so much.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 36.

* * *

><p><strong>January 28, 2013<strong>

It was a cold, dark and rainy day; I suppose it fit. Near insisted that I didn't need to come to the 'meeting' today, but it wasn't as though I had anywhere else to go. And besides, if this really was it, if Near was really and truly, FINALLY, going to be able to put an end to this Kira business, I wanted to be there; I NEEDED to be there. I had made myself a promise; I made Light Yagami a promise. Nearly six years ago I promised myself and Light that when he was finally proven to be Kira, that when his infamous reign came to an end, that when he was finally convicted; I would be there.

I was only half paying attention to Near's conformation call to Light, only giving the conversation my attention when my name was mentioned.

"...And I have a surprise for you L, an old friend of yours will be there. Her name's Jewel, although I do believe you know her as J."

I heard Light answer on the other end. It'd been less than six years since I last heard his voice, and already I was sick of it. Everything about Light Yagami made my blood run cold, made me taste bile in my mouth, made my sick to my stomach. I zoned out again and returned my attention to my own blank thoughts.

I didn't want to, but I found my thoughts returning to the past two days. The horror kept replying in my mind. I played over the goodbyes and my escape from my miniature cell. I replayed the fire and the trip to the hospital that followed. The doctors had stitched up my arms and washed the majority of the blood off of my skin and silver hair. After that though life became just one great hazy blur; driving in cars, great gloomy skyscrapers, flashing neon lights.

"Jewel," I didn't move, "it's time to go Jewel."

I walked comatose to a black Mercedes which was parked outside of the SPK headquarters. Near and I got in the back seat of the black four door. He picked up his cell phone the way L used to hold things and started a conversation with another person as we drove through the rain. My nerves were so shot and my mind was running double time to the point where I couldn't focus on anything. Before too long we pulled up outside an old building, something that looked like a really large barn or an industrial factory. We went inside, and waited.

I held my breath; it was going to end here today... one way or another.

* * *

><p>Light Yagami and the remaining members of the Japanese task force arrived promptly at one, and let themselves inside. I stood to the left of Halle with the three other members of the SPK behind Near, who was wearing a mask of L. I couldn't decide on whether that was just bad taste on his part, or if it was just some childish game he was playing. Me on the other hand, I wore no mask. My black scarf, the one that Mello had given me all those years ago, it was wrapped around my neck; but it didn't cover my face, not anymore. Near had assured us that no one was going to die today; but even if I did... well in any case I wasn't going to run and hide.<p>

All I had left in the world was Near, and if he was going to die, I was going to die too. There was no reason left for me to keep living if Kira won today. I wouldn't be able to avenge Mello's and Matt's, L's and Watari's death, not the way that would do honour to their names. Sure I could shoot Light Yagami, I could end Kira's reign just that easily; but that would not be avenging them. That would be a disgrace to everything they worked so hard for, gave their lives for.

Light and his team stood before us.

The remaining members of Light's team seemed surprised to see me standing with the SPK; or maybe they were just shocked to realise how much I resembled Near. But whichever it was, after a moment or two the collective unconscious of the group just seemed to accept it. After all, it wasn't as though they hadn't seen anything stranger than that these past years.

"It's them, those four are the SPK, and the one wearing the mask is Near... And we all know J." Mogi informed them from the corner.

"Hang on, am I the only one who sees something wrong here? He can go around accusing people of being Kira, but the fact that he's wearing a mask says he's only trying to protect himself, not anyone else," Matsuda accused. Somewhere deep down inside of me it upset me that Matsuda would dare to insult my brother like that, but I just didn't have the will to argue.

"It's just a precaution," Near answered, "There is a good possibility that Kira has already seen the faces of everybody in this warehouse except for mine. In fact, he may be writing down your names as we speak. So I'd like to wait for one hour; no, make it thirty minutes. That should give us more than enough time to see if anyone is being controlled before they die." Near curled and stroked a length of his hair through his fingers.

"What! You're going to wait and see if we die!" Matsuda asked, panic evident in his tone.

"No, it's not impossible that Light really is Kira, especially since the rest of us are of no use to him anymore."

We stood in silence for thirty minutes. I'm sure if there had been an ounce of awareness left in my body my feet would've been hurting, but I couldn't feel them. I couldn't feel anything outside of the numbness that had taken over after Mello's death... after Mello's murder.

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

* * *

><p>"Near!" Matsuda shouted, breaking the silence, "It's already been over thirty minutes and nothing's happened yet!"<p>

"Of course not, that's because Kira's not here with us," Light answered, and the sound of his voice had me once again vomiting in my mouth.

"Very well, everyone seems to be safe," Near relented. "I'll remove my mask now."

Near and Light exchanged silent glances. "You're quiet Near," I wish Light would stop talking, "what's wrong?" As if Light actually cared, as if he had one considerate bone in his body. "Are you still waiting for something?" His innocent act was so infuriatingly stale.

"Waiting, that's an excellent choice of words," Near said, picking up the Kira finger puppet out of the many that were scattered before him. The Mello puppet caught my eye. "Yes I am waiting, for the arrival of the one who will solve everything once and for all."

"Someone else is supposed to clear this up?" Ide asked from the back of the group. I angled my head ever so slightly so that I could see him. For some reason, my eyes and throat were burning.

"He'll be here soon, it's only a matter of time," Near responded. "There's only one entrance to this building, and the only way to look inside is by opening that door." Everybody's heads turned robotically to the large, heavy red door in the side of the building. "That means he'll either walk through that door, or at the very least, open it and peak through."

I was zoning out again and vaguely wondered about my surroundings. I knew we were in a large building, I could look at it, but it seemed like I just wasn't seeing it. I could hear the voices around me, but I just wasn't listening. 'I'm sure it must be cold in here' I thought to myself. 'It looks all damp and mildew-y.' I should've brought Mello's jacket with me. I'd retrieved it, and all the other belongings that had been left behind at the abandoned asylum.

"And just who is this person anyway?" charged Matsuda, bringing my attention back.

"X-Kira, the one who is currently using the Notebook and killing people on Kira's behalf. He's bound to come here and bring the Notebook with him." Near picked up a freaky looking finger puppet with a long face and glasses, holding a Notebook, "And then, he'll see me and write down my real name," Near continued. "Or rather, he'll write down the names of everyone here who knows about the Notebook; and kill them."

Startled and panicked gasps sounded throughout the persons in the room. I wasn't sure if anything could phase me anymore.

"What! What are you saying! This doesn't make any sense." 'Calm down Matsuda,' I thought to myself. It didn't make sense to me either, but then 1. I wasn't paying attention, and 2. I'm sure Matsuda cared more about his life than I did about mine at the moment. "What are you trying to tell us Near?" I just realized Matsuda had gotten a hair cut; weird. "That some other guy is going to drop by with the Notebook, poke his head in and kill us all!" I couldn't take much more of this.

"And you want us to sit back and let this happen!" Ide chimed in, adding his two bits worth.

"Yes, that's correct," Near answered matter-of-factly; but then, EVERYTHING Near said was ALWAYS said with a 'matter-of-fact' tone. It used to drive me crazy when we were little... and I realised, it still did. "Now listen carefully; if someone comes into the warehouse through that door, just let him in without resisting. If the door opens slightly, simply act as if you don't notice anyone there."

"But, but that's just crazy!" Please shut up Matsuda. I'm sure you're giving me a headache... just because I can't tell at the moment, is no reason to continue with your outbursts.

"He's already here!" Near informed the group and I sensed it was taking every last ounce of strength that each of them had, to stop themselves from running scared through the concrete walls. The look on Light's face however... I was in part reminded of this movie I saw once: 'From Hell.'

A tense moment surrounded us and no one moved, but I heard a rat scream out from one of the shadows. Even the vermin of the world was afraid of Kira.

Matsuda panicked and pulled a gun. I always sympathised with him the most when I was working under L. He was young like Mello and I, maybe not quite so young, but after this case there wasn't any doubt in my mind that whether he survived or not, he had definitely lost some years of his life. Years that not even rigorous therapy would be able to recover.

Two of the SPK members beside me pulled their guns too and aimed them at Matsuda, "Hold it! Don't do anything!" one of them ordered.

"Everything is fine," Near spoke through the chaos, "you won't die!"

Near... Please be right Near! I can't lose you too! I just can't! I never told you, I never told you how much you mean to me!

"How can you be so sure Near!"

"Because I modified the Notebook," I heard more gasps around the room. You would think these people would just suspect stuff like that by now. How could they, after everything they've been through, still be surprised at anything! "We took possession of the Notebook and replaced the pages. The person behind the door has been doing the killings for Kira, he has also been using exactly one page every day. Based on that I was able to replace the page he would use today, as well as all subsequent pages so that no one else would die.

On the other side of that door is X-Kira; my guess is, in roughly forty seconds he'll look inside to see if we're dead. That's when we'll restrain him and seize the Notebook. Whoever's name is not written down, MUST be Kira."

"I-It's true. Kira would be the only one that guy wouldn't try to kill. But still..."

The logic behind Near's statement seemed to make sense to me; but was I really positive that I could be sure about anything in my present state?

The next forty seconds seemed to take an eternity, it seemed as though time had stopped altogether. And then just like that, it was over.

Relieved breaths were released from the men standing with Light just before he called out to the man on the other side of the door. "You there, outside, have you finished writing down the names in the Notebook?" Something about Light's question brought me out of my daze into the real world, and I bit down on my lip. There was something about it I just couldn't put my finger on.

"Yes, I've written them." Why would X-Kira have any reason to answer us? No, not 'us,' why would X-Kira have any reason to answer LIGHT. Ha, I've got it! And just like that the remaining pieces of the puzzle clicked together in my head. Of course it'd been apparent all along that Light was Kira, but now; this time we had some solid proof.

"Don't you think it's rather odd?" Sounds like Near had picked up on it too, "Why would he answer you so quickly, calmly, and honestly when you asked him if he'd written down our names yet?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's just honest?" Or maybe, you're a lying, cheating, murdering scum-bag who's been caught in his own web of deceit. "Or confident he'll succeed, or perhaps he's seen through your brilliant plan?" Cut the arrogant attitude Light, it's over.

"Uh, in that case we're in big trouble." Matsuda, I can't really blame you, I'm sure if I didn't trust Near with my life, as much as I was frustrated by him at the same time, I would be nervous too.

"Teru Mikami," Near called through the door, "if it's not too much trouble for you, won't you please come in and join us? I already know you're the one who's been judging and executing people for Kira. If you've already written down our names, then there shouldn't be anything to be afraid of; you can come right on in."

"Teru Mikami is it?" Oh my, like you didn't know Light. "He's correct, there's no reason to hide from us, you can come in.

The heavy, metal door slid back noisily. Sure, he listens to Light. He stood in the open doorway, the light behind him creating a silhouette effect. "How many seconds has it been since you wrote down the first name?" Light asked, his faked innocents oozing out of every pore.

Teru, a crazed look in his eye, checked his watch. "Thirty seconds," he answered, "Thirty-one, thirty-two..." as he neared forty I felt the people around me tense up, "...thirty-nine,"

"Well Near," Light cut in, "looks like I win."

"...FORTY!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I really hope you like this chapter. Personally some parts seemed a little too busy to me, (i.e. when Jewel is having an inner monologue in-between when people are speaking,) but there was just so much I had to say for this chapter. So anyway, I hope it all made sense. The next chapter should be up in a couple hours. It's already written, I just have to touch it up a hair.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: **Here it is, your final chapter :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

**Spoiler Alert: **This chapter contains material to episode 37... Yes, the end.

* * *

><p><em>Teru, a crazed look in his eye, checked his watch. "Thirty seconds," he answered, "Thirty-one, thirty-two..." as he neared forty I felt the people around me tense up, "...thirty-nine,"<em>

"_Well Near," Light cut in, "looks like I win."_

"_...FORTY!"_

Poor Matsuda looked as though he was going to have a heart attack whether the Notebook was responsible for it or not. "W-we're still alive," he finally managed. "It's been over a minute and we haven't died!"

"Didn't I tell you all that no one was going to die?" Near, I don't care how certain you were, you had to be at least a LITTLE worried.

"But why! Why won't they die!" Teru hollered; and what he said next drove the final nail in Light's coffin, "God!" he cried out, addressing none other than Light, "I did everything you told me!"

I breathed a sigh of relief and my hazy world seemed to brighten ever so slightly. Somehow I wasn't so numb, somehow I wasn't in as much pain. It was going to end here today... and it was going to end in our favour.

"Rester, Giovanni! Take him NOW!" Near ordered.

The two men from the SPK charged after a stunned Teru with handcuffs and guns. A fearful cry escaped Teru's mouth, and the Notebook went flying out of his hands.

"Giovanni, the Notebook please," Near requested, hand reaching. Giovanni handed the Notebook to Near and we all waited while Near examined it. "If you didn't believe me earlier, then see for yourselves," Near held the Notebook in front of everyone to read.

Across the top of the page was written: Nate River, Anthony Carter, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullock, Jessica River. Underneath those names were four more: Kanzo Mogi, Touta Matsuda, Hideke Ide, Shuichi Aizawa.

"I can confirm that the first five names are definitely the real names of the SPK members; the remaining four are the names of your team. The only name that hasn't been written down is, 'Light Yagami.' If that weren't enough, Mikami also addressed you as 'god,' and said he did what you asked him to. It's settled.

I sensed an objection ready to come from one of the members of the Task Force.

"Don't tell me you didn't realise" I finally spoke up. "Think about it! Do you really think it's just a coincidence that L, Near and Mello all found evidence that points to Light being Kira! Do you really think it's a coincidence that Light's name keeps coming up, or that every time LIGHT finds out something new KIRA takes action!" I jabbed my finger at Light and was pleased to admit to myself that being able to face him like this was igniting a new fire in my soul.

Light began to tremor in front of us, no doubt he was about to crack. After something like six years of playing his intense, sick, twisted game with opponents like L, Near and Mello, I think anybody would be ready to be committed.

"This whole thing is a set up!" Light cried. "This is all part of Near's plan to frame me! Isn't it a little odd that no one died after having their name written in the Notebook! This proves it's a trap!" Light's expression was downright frightening, his eyes were crazed and his movements erratic.

"I believe I already told you that no one would die because I modified the Notebook," Near, always the voice of reason.

"No! You! Ah... It can't be!" Light was losing it. The calm, innocent facade he held in place for so long was crumbling around him. "This is a set up! I don't know this guy!" Light directed his assault at Teru, who wore a horrified expression at Light's words. Teru hunched over, and whined like beaten dog... or more like, a beaten dog with rabbis perhaps.

I wondered if at any point either of them had been truly sane. Had the Death Note drove them to this lunacy? Or were they both mental deviants from the beginning?

Aizawa walked over to Light and put his hand on his shoulder. "Light, it's too late to deny it; you know Near has won. Just a moment ago you were saying, 'It looks like I win.' How much more of a confession do we need?"

"Light," Matsuda voiced as he slumped to his knees, "why?" I think out of everybody, he wanted Light to be innocent the most. He believed in Light, and now...

Mogi walked over to Light, handcuffs in his hands.

"STOP IT!" Light bellowed and broke away before the handcuffs were locked. He ran and fell, got up and ran some more.

It was almost sad, almost pitiable. To watch someone break down in front of you; to watch them watch their hopes and dreams be smashed to pieces. You almost had to care about the pain Light must have been going through... ALMOST.

Light crashed into the concrete wall at the end of the building and stood there panting, hunched over and cowering like the rat that he was. His wheezing, pained breaths could be heard from the opposite end of the warehouse.

"Light Yagami. L. Kira. It's over, you lost the game." Near began, "Just a moment ago you proclaimed your victory, expecting us all to die. And to tell the truth, you might have actually won..." now isn't that just a terrifying thought, "...and I would have lost," Near paused, getting ready to explain what happened. "We ended up doing exactly what you expected us to, and altered the fake Notebook in Mikami's possession. However, when I said before that we had modified the Notebook, I was in fact referring to the real Notebook as well as the fake." I hadn't been made aware of Near's plan. No one had told me. But it wasn't as though I would have been paying attention if they had.

"We only switched part of the fake Notebook, but as for the real one..." Near bent over, and knocked the toy Notebook out of the Teru puppet's hands, revealing the word 'fake' written on the back, "...we replaced the entire thing." Near pulled out another Death Note from his shirt, "This one here is actually the real one."

Light recoiled in horror, "No! Impossible!"

"We used the same kind of pen Mikami used, copied his handwriting perfectly, and made the inside and the outside of our fake look exactly like the original," Near continued, "Giovanni was able to do it in a single night.

Of course since I had touched the real Notebook before coming, I've been able to see the Shinigami as well." And with that Near directed his attention to an invisible figure beyond Light's shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Shinigami, I'm Near."

I wasn't sure which Shinigami Near was talking about, I'd met Rem back when I was working under L, and of course I'd met Sidoh while I was with Mello, but I couldn't imagine this Shinigami as being either of them.

"Some of the edges of this Notebook's pages are torn, tell me, if someone's name was written on a ripped off piece of paper, would they still die?" I couldn't hear the Shinigami's response, but when Near followed with, "I thought so," I could only believe that the Shinigami had confirmed it. "I bet you were able to use that to your advantage," Near asked of Light, although it wasn't much of a question as it was a statement of fact. "I wonder how many times you deceived us with this," Near continued, "how many people you killed."

"Light Yagami, YOU are Kira."

* * *

><p>Lights breathing was rough and ragged as he turned his attention to Mikami. Then as if Near could read Light's mind, he answered an unspoken question, "You're mistaken, this was all thanks to Mello."<p>

At the mention of his name I found myself grabbing my chest, clawing at the invisible hole which had swallowed my heart. 'There you go Mello,' I thought silently, 'you finally got what you always wanted, Near acknowledges you, respects you. Now tell me, was it worth it?'

Near held up the Mello finger puppet and continued, "I believe if I explain this much, you'll begin to understand. Please take a look at this page of the Notebook," Near asked, flipping back a few pages. Along the top of the left hand page was Takada's name.

"God... you told me you couldn't move freely," Teru stuttered, "I had to make sure Takada was taken care of!" Teru looked like a wild, savage animal; one that had been cornered and caged... Light looked even worse off than Mikami did. "Wasn't that my duty to you!" he begged of Light.

Light, a wolf in sheep's clothing. No, a mortal in a god's clothing.

"You idiot!" Light cried, "I gave you strict orders not to make any unnecessary movements until today!" It looked as though Light wasn't worried about his innocent guise any more.

"It's all true," Near continued, "on the twenty-sixth, right after Takada's kidnapping was broadcast on the news, Mikami went to the bank."

"I'd been trailing him," Giovanni cut in, "I knew he went to the bank every month on the twenty-fifth, so it was odd for someone so methodical to go to the bank twice in two days. I followed Mikami to the bank as he headed for the safe deposit boxes; it was only at this time that he seemed concerned whether or not someone was following him or not. I got into his safe deposit box, inside was the real Notebook. Sure enough, Takada's name had already been written inside it."

I finally understood how Near had executed his plan. It was, like everything else Near accomplished in life: Genius.

"Do you understand now Light Yagami?" Near asked condescendingly, as though he was speaking to a child. In a way, Light was a child; a spoiled child who had to get his way, who thought everything revolved around him, who thought he was someone to be worshiped. "You didn't realise that Mikami had made a move on his own and had written Takada's name in his Notebook, because you had already killed her using a Notebook clipping yourself. This was the event that made me consider the possibility of a fake Notebook. We were able to stop you thanks to the efforts of one person... It was Mello who did it all."

My heart was aching and my mind was reeling in pain. Mello was gone, he was never coming back. I glanced over to Halle and there was no doubt in my mind that she was realising the same thing.

"I bet Mello knew in his heart," Near started, jolting me out of my self-induced misery... if only for the time being, "that working by ourselves, neither of us would be able to attain our goal and surpass our mentor L. But together, together we could stand with L! Together we could surpass L! And now..." was I hearing passion rise in Near's voice? "...acting as one, we face the Kira who defeated L and with solid evidence beat him at his own game!" Retribution. Justice. "Let's see you try and talk your way out of this one... If you can."

Light's expression was crazed and demonic, his eyes wild and his teeth gritted together. A maniacal laughter broke the silence as Light arched his head back. It made my blood run cold. I knew in that moment, the feeling of genuine fear. All the men around me starred at Light with alarmed expressions.

"That's right, I AM Kira!" An intense shiver ran down my spine. It had been known it for a while now, but to actually hear Light admit it, to hear it come from his own mouth, was still terrifying.

No one spoke, and not even the large industrial fan which was circulating the air at the top of the building seemed to make noise.

"And what can you do?" asked Light suddenly, "Kill me right here?" His voice was to taunting, like he still believed he was in control. "Hear this, I am not only Kira, but I am also god of the new world!" Light raised and dropped his arm in a dramatic flourish. "Kira has become law in the world we now live. He's the one who's maintaining order. I have become justice, the only hope for mankind! Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do?" Light turned his back to us, daring us with every movement to shoot him. "Since Kira's appearance six years ago, wars have stopped and global crime rates have been reduced by over seventy percent! But it's not enough! This world is still rotten, with too many rotten people." Rotten people like you, Light Yagami? "Somebody has to do this! When I first got that Notebook all those years ago I knew I had to do it! No, I was the only one who could! I understood that killing people was a crime; there was no other way, the world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it! Who else could have done it!" Light turned back to us, arms extended like he was frantically searching for any sort of an answer. "Who else could've come this far! Would they have kept going! The only one who can create a new world, is me."

"No!" Near countered, "You're just a murderer Light Yagami! And this Notebook is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind.

You yielded to the power of the Shinigami and the Notebook, and you have confused yourself with a god." Near plucked the Kira puppet of the ground and squished it between his fingers. "In the end, you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are! Nothing more and nothing less."

The room was frozen in space and time. No one moved, no one spoke; I don't think anyone knew what to do, or say next.

"Near," Light called, "here's some food for thought: That Notebook you have, and the one that Aizawa brought from the Japanese task force headquarters, are they both real?" Light's tone was once again complacent and sane. The way he jumped from passionate yelling, so casual conversation was giving me whiplash and it was scaring me how he was still trying to get back into control. But like Mello had told me so long ago, Kira would never willingly give up his power.

Near's head lobbed to the side like a confused animal's. "At the moment, only I know where the real Notebook is," Light continued. He turned and started walking away. "If you truly want to defeat Kira, as well as test the Notebook that Aizawa's carrying, I guess you're going to have to write down either my name, or Mikami's." Don't fall for it Near, he's bluffing. Why on earth would he be telling you this otherwise... unless! He's trying to distract us! He was trying to buy time! "...It's the only way to see if it's real; or fake!"

"NEAR!" I cried into the darkness of the warehouse.

What happened next was a blur of motion, "He's hidden a piece of the Notebook!" someone cried, and I saw Matsuda reach for his gun.

Gunfire exploded, and Light's blood blasted from his arm. "Matsuda?" I heard someone ask with concern, and I looked down to see Matsuda trembling on his knees.

Light clutched his arm in agony and cried out, "Matsuda! You idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at! Don't screw with me!"

"What was it all for then!" Matsuda demanded, standing up. "What about your dad! What the hell did he die for!"

"My dad? You mean Soichiro Yagami." Lights tone was highly volatile and unstable again, and his wheezed breaths were audibly difficult. "That's right Matsuda, in this world all the earnest people like him who fight for justice, they always lose!" Light's crimson blood began pooling on the concrete. I half expected green blood from him, or maybe black; something to suggest that he wasn't human, something to suggest that he was an alien or a demon. For me at that point, an alien or a demon would have been easier to accept. It would have been easier to accept that Light wasn't even human, than to try and believe, to try and comprehend that an actual human could have gone so far... I wondered vaguely if Hitler was human. "You want to live in a world where people like that are made to be fools?" Light continued. "I know you understand, so kill the others!" Light ordered. "Shoot them!"

Streams of tears were falling from Matsuda's eyes. A pair of waterfalls displaying his pain and anguish. "You led your own father to his death," Matsuda charged, he tried to level his gun, but his hands were shaking violently, "...and now he's gone you call him a fool!

"His blood!" Someone called behind us, and Matsuda let go with another four gunshots.

"I'll kill him!" Matsuda cried, "I'll kill him!" Matsuda stormed over to Light, his gun trained on Light's head. "He has to die!"

"Matsuda!"

BANG!

The final gunshot echoed through the hollow building, and steam rose from a bullet hole in the concrete; not two centimetres to the left of Light's head.

It took three men to restrain Matsuda as Light lay, heaving breaths, in a stagnant pool of water and blood.

Mikami stood frozen in a corner as Light attempted, rather shakily, to stand up. "Damn you, what the hell is this!" Light's voice was scratchy and pained. "Mikami! What are you waiting for! Write down their names! Write them down! Kill them now!" Light twisted and jerked in the pool of his own blood; his movements becoming more and more erratic.

"It's finally over, isn't it Near?"

"Yes."

"Where are you Misa?" Light wheezed, "Where's Takada? You had her killed Light, remember?

Suddenly, from behind us Mikami started screaming! I turned towards him only to be sprayed head to toe in his blood which was spurting from his chest.

"Ahh!" I whined, and threw my arms over my face.

"Mikami!"

"Quick, stop the bleeding!"

"It's already too late. He'll be dead in a few seconds."

In the excitement, Light had struggled his way to the door. He forced it open and hurried through.

"Wait! Light!" Matsuda called, as I wiped what blood I could from my eyes and face.

"He's getting away! Light!"

"Mr. Aizawa, it's unlikely he has any more pieces of the Notebook," Near mentioned, lifting Light's folded scrap from the floor, "and with those wounds, he's not going to go far. He'll stop running soon, even if we leave him alone."

"Near, I'm not going to follow your orders." Rude much.

"Very well then, I'll leave it up to you," Near genuinely looked insulted as twisted a lock of his hair around his finger.

And with that, all the remaining members of the Japanese task force took off after Light; I remained with Near, Halle, and the others from the SPK.

I looked over Near's shoulder at the scrap of the Notebook he held in his fingers and my heart nearly stopped. Written in Light Yagami's blood was one word, one name; 'Nate.' My brother's name. I had already lost L, lost Matt and lost Mello, and I had just come so unbelievably close to losing my brother. Losing the last person in the world who meant anything to me.

I fell to my knees beside my brother and wrapped him up in a very tight hug. I could feel the shock spread through him; I don't think I've ever in my life hugged Near, not even when we were little. I leaned my head on his shoulders and wept heavily.

"Near," I sobbed into his shirt. "Near I love you so much! I almost lost you and I never told you how important you are to me," I cried harder, but Near seemed to tolerate my invasion a little more anyway. "I... I'm sorry," I muttered through my tears.

Near remained unmoving but asked, "For what?"

"For invading your personal bubble," I chucked wryly, "and for getting blood all over you," I continued, pulling back and noting that the blood Mikami had splattered on me had transferred to Near and his once white clothes.

I didn't know how to make sense of what I was feeling anymore. I was filled with so many emotions. I was so glad Kira had been found out, I was so relived Near was alive, I was so angry and bitter about the death's... the murders of Matt, Mello, L and Watari. I was so sad for all those who had lost loved ones to Kira. But one thing I was not... I was not afraid. Not anymore.

It was over, Light could run but he couldn't hide. And in the condition he was, he wouldn't be doing much running anyway. It was the end of Light Yagami, it was the end of Kira.

* * *

><p>"<em>LIGHT YAGAMI<em>_! You will pay Light Yagami! You will pay for L's death, and all the countless other people you have murdered. I promise you this! And I promise you I will be there to witness your end!"_

I recalled the words I'd sworn over L's body so many years ago.

"Well, I did it," I muttered.

"Hmm?" Near asked beside me. I'd almost forgotten he was there... and that I was still holding onto him. For his own sake I released my death grip on him.

"I fulfilled my promise." Near looked slightly confused, but accepting.

I strolled quietly out of the warehouse and sat on the bumper of one of the Mercedes parked outside. I watched the sunset, and I was at peace.

"Jewel?"

"Do you think it would be disgraceful of me? If I forgave him I mean?"

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you're too weak to hold on, it means you're strong enough to let go. I don't think L would have it any other way. He would want you to be happy, he would want you to let go of your pain. Letting go doesn't mean you have to forget after all."

"Thanks Near." I'd never heard him say anything so deep and profound before... but I wasn't going to question it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well, this is it; the last chapter. Next is the Epilogue and then my story will be complete :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: **EPILOGUE! This will be my last update for this story. Let me know if you have any questions, if I've left any loose ends, or if something was unclear :) You guys absolutely, positively rock for holding out with this story ^_^ All of your reviews/comments have been so great.

I'll say it one last time: I hope you guys liked my story :D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

* * *

><p><strong>January 26, 2018<strong>

How long had it been? I wondered half-heartedly. I knew if I took even a micro second to stop and think about it, I'd know; but I really didn't care.

I walked through the shovelled path along the main road of the cemetery. It took me a moment to realise how absolutely silent everything was. It was a beautiful day, and the sun glinted like diamonds off the fresh snow, but there were no sounds. No sounds from the city, no sounds from nature, not even the sounds of my boots crunching on the snow; not even the sound of my breathing. A quiet reverence was spread over the whole area; a quiet respect for the dead.

I turned left now, working my way through the much deeper snow, some of it ending up in my boots, but I didn't care. I walked past the rows of dead, stopping when I came to four, unnamed graves.

Four crosses marked the resting places of four of my closest friends.

I took the first of four bouquets of roses from my hands and placed it on the snow in front of the first cross. Twelve blue roses directly contrasted the unmarred white, but the white tag I'd attatched blended right in. '_Here Lies Justice' _it read. "I miss you so much L," I said quietly, breaking the silence. "We all do. You are a hero, in every sense of the word."

The next roses I placed were pink; the tag reading _'Here Lies Hope." _Watari's grave. Quillish Wammy's Grave. I bowed respectfully and moved on.

On the third grave I left yellow roses with a tag that said, _'Here Lies Youth.'_ Matt's grave. Mail Jeevas' Grave. Matt hadn't even made it to his twentieth birthday; he was just four days short. He had died five years ago to the day and had been all but three years younger than I was now. I wanted to be angry and bitter. I wanted to hate vermin who had taken such a wonderful person out of the world... such wonderful people. 'What a waste,' I wanted to say, but I just couldn't. Near's words to me that day replayed over and over in my mind, and kept me sane.

"_Forgiveness doesn't mean you're too weak to hold on, it means you're strong enough to let go. I don't think they would have it any other way. They would want you to be happy, they would want you to let go of your pain. Letting go doesn't mean you have to forget after all."_

I couldn't say anything, so instead I let a single tear drop fell from my eye onto the snow and allowed a weak smile.

And now I came upon the last grave. _'Here Lies Determination,'_ I read to myself as I kneeled down beside Mello's grave. Mihael Keehl's grave. I placed the last of my bouquets beside the cross. Twelve purple roses now adorned the snow covered ground.

I pulled Mello's picture out of the pocket of my coat... Mello's coat.

"_His death wasn't in vain you know. He died a hero." Halle had told me when we'd gotten into the car. We were headed back to the SPK headquarters._

"_Yeah, I know." I said, and pulled out Mello's picture from my pocket and held it to my chest. It was the same picture Mello'd retrieved from Near the month before. The picture from Wammy's. It was the picture that he'd oh so cleverly hidden in the pocket of the coat he'd given me just two days earlier. I turned it over and read the back. '__Dear Mello__' had been crossed out, and in its place read: '__Dear Jewel.__' I turned the picture back around and gazed into the face of a fourteen year old boy. _

A small but firm tug on the corner of my jacket... of Mello's jacket, had me zoning back to the present.

"Mommy?" I looked down at the platinum blonde with azure eyes who was staring up at me.

"Yes dear?" I smiled down at her; she looked so much like him.

"That's Daddy's grave isn't it?" she asked me.

"Yes dear."

"Daddy was a hero, wasn't he?"

"Yes dear."

"And Uncle Near?"

"Yes dear."

She seemed to ponder this for a moment and her gaze fell upon the graves in front of us.

"And Uncle Mail?" she asked, not taking her eyes from the four crosses.

"Mmm Hmm," I confirmed. "Don't forget Quillish," I added. "And L."

Her gaze fell on the farthest crosses, "I'd never forget Wammy," she said in her angelic voice, "or L, or any of the other people who lost their lives." Such an old soul she was already, and not even five years old. "I'd never forget all the people who stood up to Kira, who saved the world. Daddy and the others, they the saved the world, right Mommy?"

"Yes dear."

"Jesse," a voice called from behind us. It was so nice to no longer have to hide behind a false name, to no longer have to fear that which was called Kira.

The tiny blonde turned first, "Uncle Near!" she exclaimed and ran to great him excitedly. I turned and watched her run into my brother's legs and wrap her arms around them. I wondered if Near would ever get used to that. "Uncle Near!" she smiled, "You're back from your case already?"

Near nodded at the little girl with ashen skin. I turned back to the graves to say one last goodbye.

"Same time next year Mello?" I asked quietly. "She sure looks like you ya know. And you know what else? She's going to be smarter than Near; bet on it." I winked and turned to follow Near and his niece.

Near had been courteous enough to come pick us up in his car. I'd told him we didn't need him to, but he'd insisted. The three of us slid into the back; me with Virginia, the little blonde with a stuffed pig, aptly named Orwell and oddly enough Near, with Macaca Fascicularis. I always had to roll my eyes at the name he'd given his stuffy all those years ago.

It was quite a quiet ride until a small voice asked, "What are the different coloured roses for?" I instantly had a flashback to my days at Wammy's; to the day in particular when Mello had asked me exactly the same question.

I recited back to the little girl the same answer I had given to Mello. "Blue roses are for a complex personality, an enigma, a person with many layers, a person who holds true fascination for oneself," L had always been fascinating to me. "Pink roses are given for thanks," I was ever so thankful to Quillish Wammy for everything he'd done for me and all the children at his school. "Yellow roses are for happiness and friendship," Matt had always been there for me; whenever I needed him. "And purple roses; purple roses are for love at first sight. You give purple roses to someone who has swept you off your feet, who you wish to know a lot better."

"Wouldn't, wouldn't red roses be more appropriate?" the little girl asked, a little unsure.

"Anybody can receive red roses... Mello wasn't just anyone."

"You really loved him," Near cut in unexpectedly, it wasn't a question.

"Yes, I really love him."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well that's it ;P

So, I'm sure I'm going to get a question or two about the kid's name. As it was I was so undecided. I had a couple ideas myself and I was given some really awesome suggestions from others too. I couldn't decide, so I just decided to leave it out.

I got the information on the roses from some sort of botany site, so if I'm wrong, blame them ha-ha ^_^

So, the general consensus is that people want a prequel to this story. I'm feeling something along the lines of Mello's and Jewel's lives at Wammy's, before all this Kira business. I hope you guys will read that when it gets posted :)

**A Special Thanks: **I would like to formally acknowledge the following for their glorious reviews, support, and great idea's for my story :)

Tawnyshine, snowflakeyukiharuno, Kira Tsumi, KiriKatana, HarryPotterMangaGleek, Strange Amairaini XIII, Katya.G.M, Holly and iggy4eva.

Not to mention all those who awesomely favourited/subscribed. And all my readers in general :D

You all made writing this story worthwhile =^_^=


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